Daily TribuneThe poll body’s First Division on 13 December 2021, ruled against Marquez and declared him a nuisance candidate, holding that he had the burden to prove and failed to show that he is ‘known well enough nationwide.’
The Supreme Court has ruled that unpopularity and non-membership in a political party are not sufficient grounds to declare one a nuisance candidate.
This was stated in a 20-page decision penned by Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, the Supreme Court En Banc partly granted the Petition for Certiorari filed by Norman Cordero Marquez assailing the Resolution of the Commission on Elections declaring Marquez a nuisance candidate and canceled his Certificate of Candidacy for senator for the 9 May 2022 National and Local Elections.
Marquez's prayer for the inclusion of his name in the official ballots, however, was declared moot with the conclusion of the 2022 Elections and the proclamation of the senators-elect.
On 1 October 2021, Marquez, co-founder of animal advocacy group Baguio Animal Welfare, filed his CoC as senator for the 2022 Elections. The Comelec Law Department subsequently filed a petition to declare Marquez a nuisance candidate, finding him without bona fide intention to run for a national position because he was "virtually unknown to the entire country" and lacked "the support of a political party."
The poll body's First Division on 13 December 2021, ruled against Marquez and declared him a nuisance candidate, holding that he had the burden to prove and failed to show that he is "known well enough nationwide."
It also held that Marquez cannot invoke the Supreme Court's ruling in his previous case in 2019, Marquez v Comelec, where the Court ruled in his favor.
In the 2019 Decision, the Court nullified the Comelec's declaration of Marquez as a nuisance senatorial candidate in the 2019 National and Local Elections, holding that the Comelec cannot conflate the bona fide intention to run with a financial capacity requirement.
Nuisance status
However, in the present case, the grounds for Marquez's nuisance status are different; hence the 2019 ruling is not applicable, held the Comelec. This was affirmed by the Comelec En Banc on 3 January 2022 when it denied Marquez's Motion for Reconsideration, prompting him to raise the matter to the Supreme Court.
Marquez also prayed for a Temporary Restraining Order against the Comelec which the High Tribunal granted on 19 January 2022, enjoining the Comelec from implementing its assailed resolutions.
But the poll body proceeded with the printing of official ballots where Marquez's name was not included.
While Marquez's case has been mooted by the conclusion of the 2022 Elections, the Supreme Court found it necessary to resolve the matter since the same situation may recur in future elections.
The SC in resolving Marquez's petition, found that the Comelec committed several errors.
First, it shifted the burden on Marquez to prove that he is not a nuisance candidate, a burden supposed to be borne by the Comelec Law Department which made the allegation that Marquez did not possess bona fide intention to run for senator.
