EDITORIAL - Mocking the elections

A month into the official campaign period, the Commission on Elections has disqualified Vetellano Acosta, standard-bearer of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. Comelec officials said they belatedly discovered that Acosta was not even a registered voter in Barangay Tejeron in Sta. Ana, Manila, as he had declared in his certificate of candidacy. Acosta’s running mate had withdrawn support from him, and the KBL was reportedly set to do the same before the Comelec disqualified the presidential candidate.

Because Acosta was fielded by a political party that is nearly 40 years old and was the dominant party for 14 years during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the Comelec approved his candidacy. But there were early indications that Acosta was not cut out to be a presidential candidate. Citing lack of funds, he never kicked off his campaign. He said he did not know his running mate was broadcaster Jay Sonza, and he did not know the senatorial candidates of the KBL. His responses during media interviews were more appropriate for the comics rather than serious news about the presidential candidates.

KBL stalwarts had portrayed Acosta as an international financial consultant. The Liberal Party was not impressed, and asked the Comelec to disqualify Acosta. The LP complained that Acosta was fielded to dislodge the party’s standard-bearer, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, from the top of the list of presidential candidates on the ballot. The Comelec said yesterday that it was too late to delete Acosta’s name from the nine million ballots printed so far. The best that the Comelec could do at this point, officials said, was to consider votes cast for Acosta as stray votes.

Now the candidate who provided comic relief in the presidential campaign has been disqualified. The antics of Acosta should nudge the Comelec to improve its vetting of those aspiring for the nation’s highest position. Campaign issues can be confusing enough without someone making a mockery of the presidential race.