The 2025 national, local, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao elections will be guided by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution which implies a stricter policy when it comes to the required credentials of would-be candidates.

Under Resolution number 11046 or “Rules of Procedure on the Filing of (1) Petition to Deny Due Course to and/or Cancel Certificate of Candidacy; (2) Petition to Declare a Nuisance Candidate; and (3) Petition for Disqualification” in connection with next year’s elections, the commission came out with simplified rules in resolving cases that will fall under the said grounds.

Stated in Resolution 11046 promulgated on August 28, 2024, the commission declared that a candidate can either be denied or their certificate of candidacy cancelled once proven that a false declaration in the COC was deliberately made. 

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The complaint can be filed “by any registered voter or a duly registered political party, organization, or coalition of political parties.”

A nuisance candidate, meantime, can be declared on the following grounds:

- The COC has been filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute;
- The COC causes confusion among voters by the similarity of names of the registered candidates; and
- By other acts or circumstances which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the COC has been filed.

Candidates can be disqualified if: 1) they lack the qualifications as stated by law or the Constitution; 2) failed to file the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) for two elections.

Political aspirants can also be disqualified if declared by a competent court as “guilty” with finality on acts of giving money to influence voters or public officials; by committing acts of terrorism; spending more than the required budget for election campaign; illegally solicited contributions;  violating the Omnibus Election Code; acquired permanent residency or citizenship in other countries or has violated the Local Government Code. 

Petitions to cancel the COC of certain candidates must be filed not later than 25 days after the October 1 to 8 filing of the COC, the Resolution stated. 

“In case of substitution of candidate by reason of death or incapacity, the Petition must be filed within five days from the time the substitute candidate filed his COC,” the Resolution stated. 

Petition to disqualify candidates “shall be filed not later than the date of proclamation.” 

Filing of the petition can be made personally or via electronic mail. 

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Meanwhile, the period to resolve the filed petitions will be based in accordance with the Comelec's Rules of Procedures, while a Motion for Reconsideration must be filed five days upon receipt of the decision. 

“A Resolution or Final Order is deemed final and executory if, in case of a Division ruling, no motion for reconsideration is filed within the reglementary period, or the motion for reconsideration is filed within the reglementary period or the motion for reconsideration is denied... or in the cases of rulings of the Commission en Banc, no restraining order is issued by the Supreme Court within five days from receipt of the Resolution or Final Order,” the Resolution stated. 

“Should the Petition be granted after the proclamation of the candidate whose COC has been denied due course or cancelled, the latter’s proclamation shall be declared null and void... there can be no valid substitution for a candidate whose COC has been cancelled or denied due course,” it added.

 ASSESSING THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES

The Comelec also set January 10, 2025, as the deadline for political parties to submit documents which the commission will use in determining which are the “dominant majority party” and the “dominant minority party,” as well as the 10 major national parties and two major local parties, for the national, local, and BARMM parliamentary elections. 

Parties that can field a complete lineup of candidates will be declared as the major dominant party. 

The Comelec has also extended to BARMM-based parties the period to file their Manifestation of Intent to Participate, from August 29, 2024 to October 8, 2024, as stated in its Resolution 11047.

Party conventions meanwhile can still be held until September 30, 2024. 

“Let the Bangsamoro Electoral Office (BEO) inform all concerned parties within their respective jurisdictions of this extension. Necessary measures should be taken to facilitate the smooth submission of the MIP within the extended period,” Resolution 11048 stated.