The final list of candidates for the May 2022 polls may be known by December.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez said they expect the release of the final list next month.
"We are expecting the final list of candidates some time in December. The earliest that will come is in the middle of December," he said in a press briefing Thursday, Nov. 11.
Jimenez said the poll body will start cracking on the list after Nov 15.
"After Nov. 15, that is when Comelec really starts cracking down on the list because everyone who is getting out of the list voluntarily has already gotten out. So all that remains are those who really want to run for office. Now, we will find out at that point who among them are nuisance," he said.
When asked how many motu propio cases for the declaration as nuisance candidates have already been filed, Jimenez said, more than 70.
Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code states that the Commission may, motu proprio or upon a verified petition of an interested party, refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy.
This is in cases where it is shown that it is 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.