Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia said the poll body will treat guidance issued by the Supreme Court (SC) as having the force of law.

Garcia made the statement when asked to comment on a recent SC decision involving a nuisance candidate complaint.

“Guidance from the Supreme Court on a provision of law will be treated by the Comelec as law by itself,” Garcia said in a one-sentence reply.

Garcia was referring to an 11 November 2025 ruling by the Supreme Court en banc, which held that the use of a nickname similar to that of another candidate in a previous election is insufficient, by itself, to establish an intent to confuse voters and is not a basis for declaring a candidate a nuisance.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr., ruled that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in declaring Charles “DB” Savellano a nuisance candidate in the 2025 elections for using a nickname similar to that of a previously registered candidate.

Court records showed that Savellano ran for Ilocos Sur’s first district congressional seat in the 2025 elections. His opponent, Ronald V. Singson, petitioned the Comelec to declare Savellano a nuisance candidate, citing the similarity of Savellano’s nickname to that of Singson’s rival in a previous election, Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano.

TRO issued

Singson argued that the similarity between “DB” and “DV” would confuse voters. He also claimed Savellano lacked a genuine intention to run for public office, pointing to his absence from campaign activities and lack of media interviews.

The Comelec declared Savellano a nuisance candidate and canceled his certificate of candidacy. The Supreme Court later issued a temporary restraining order (TRO)barring the Comelec from enforcing its ruling while the case was pending.