Comelec finds it hard to stop illiterates from running in polls

MANILA, Philippines – There’s no stopping illiterate and other unqualified candidates from running in the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

Despite the law requiring a candidate to be able to read and write, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday admitted they are having difficulty eliminating unqualified bets in the list of candidates for the Oct. 25 electoral exercise.

“Literacy is a requirement. However, there are still people who are able to go around the requirement and run in the elections even if they are not qualified,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez disclosed.

Jimenez noted that some of the candidates are able to avoid the literacy requirement by asking someone else to fill out and file their certificates of candidacy (COC) before the Comelec.

“The COC can also be filed by an authorized representative so Comelec is unable to check outright whether the candidate is literate or not,” Jimenez said.

The only way to prevent illiterate candidates from participating in the elections is by filing a disqualification case against them. But Jimenez said people are not keen on filing disqualification cases in connection with the barangay and SK elections simply because most of the candidates are their relatives or acquaintance.

“We have observed that voters during the barangay elections have the tendency to just let anyone run. So I think the only way to stop them is to encourage the people not to vote for unqualified candidates,” Jimenez said.

Malacañang earlier said the poll body may ask Congress to come up with additional measures to prevent illiterate individuals from running in the elections.

The Palace made the recommendation after Jimenez related the Comelec’s concerns about the quality of candidates in the barangay elections.