Comelec: Koko, Serge Osmeña’s names to go on ballot

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and former senator Sergio "Serge" Osmeña III’s names will be on the official ballot for the midterm polls in May, but they may not be able to sit even if they win if the Commission on Elections decides to disqualify them later on.

Pimentel and Osmeña are both facing disqualification cases before the Comelec. 

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio is asking the Comelec to disqualify Pimentel for supposedly breaching the Constitutional provision that limits a senator’s tenure to two consecutive terms.

Comelec, meanwhile, is seeking to perpetually disqualify Osmeña from running in public office due to alleged failure to file his Statement of Contributions and Expenses (SOCE) during his 2010 and 2016 Senate bids.

“If they are disqualified later on and proclaimed na sila, they can be removed through quo warranto,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said.

But a quo warranto case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Comelec, whose jurisdiction ends with the proclamation of a winning candidate.

Jimenez doesn’t see the Comelec en banc resolving the petitions against the two during the election period, so a decision was made to start printing the official ballots with the two names included.

Jimenez earlier said that the commission was facing a tight timeline ahead of the polls, with the printing of ballots hindered by the disqualification cases, but that it was likely to proceed with the ballot printing by February 2 even if these cases are not yet resolved.

There will be 63 candidates for senator on the ballot. — BM, GMA News