Roxas wants ‘nuisance’ namesake disqualified from presidential race

Interior Secretary and Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II
(Photo from Roxas’ official Facebook page)

MANILA – Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II filed a petition to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), asking the agency to declare as nuisance and disqualify his namesake, Manuel Antonio Roxas, who also filed a certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.

Roxas asserted that his namesake would only cause confusion among voters as their names and nicknames were similar. The administration bet’s full name was Manuel Araneta Roxas II, thus often referred to as “Mar.” His namesake, on the other hand, claimed that he was also known as “Manny Mar.”

“To allow [respondent Manuel Antonio Roxas] to continue with his candidacy for President would make a mockery of the upcoming elections for the 16th President of the Philippines… [The respondent] must therefore be declared the nuisance candidate as defined under Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code, rules and jurisprudence,” Roxas said in his nine-page petition.

The Omnibus Election Code stated that the Comelec ‘may motu proprio or upon a verified petitions of an interested party, refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy if it is shown that said certificate has been filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts, which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office.’

Moreover, the LP presidential aspirant also noted that the name “Mar Roxas” has always been associated with him and that his namesake appeared not to have the financial capacity to hold a national campaign.

“This popular nickname has always been associated with the petitioner, Manuel Araneta Roxas. The media, if not, the general public has always referred to the petitioner as ‘Mar Roxas’,” the petition read.

“Finally, without casting aspersions on respondent, the manner by which his (respondent) COC has been filled out and his appropriation of the nickname of petitioner, show that he was no bona fide intention to run for President,” it further read.

Nuisance candidates

Already starting the process of trimming down the list of candidates for next year’s national elections, the Comelec’s Law Department declared the following aspirants as nuisance candidates: 125 for president, 13 for vice president and 128 for senator.

After the five-day filing period of COCs, the election body received 130 candidacies for president, 19 for vice president, and 172 for senator.

Comelec will release its final list of candidates by December 10, also the start of ballot-printing.