MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified the presidential bet of the once mighty political party founded by the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos for being a “nuisance candidate.â€
In an eight-page resolution, the Comelec cancelled the certificate of candidacy of Vetellano Acosta, the standard bearer of the “Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan†(KBL or the New Society Movement) founded by Marcos and which reigned supreme during his 20-year strongman rule.
“The unfolding of events and the actions of Acosta…convinced us now that to allow him to run would be of no good to the country as his candidacy only puts the electoral process in mockery,†said the resolution which was approved unanimously by the Comelec, chaired by retired Supreme Court justice Jose Melo.
With Acosta’s disqualification, only nine candidates now remain in the presidential race where the favorite, based on recent and the latest public opinion polls, is Senator Benigno “Noynoy†Aquino 3rd, the only son of the late global democracy icon president Corazon Aquino.
It was also Aquino’s political party, the Liberal Party (LP), which earlier asked the Comelec to disqualify Acosta, who describes himself as an international financial consultant, because he is a nuisance candidate.
But Acosta’s problem doesn’t end with his disqualification. The Comelec said on Friday that he might face a criminal case of falsification of public documents in court for allegedly making false entries in his certificate of candidacy.
Ironically, it was his vice presidential candidate, former broadcast journalist Jay Sonza, who disclosed that Acosta has allegedly misrepresented himself as a registered voter in Manila.
According to Sonza, Acosta allegedly misled the Comelec by claiming to be a registered voter in Santa Ana district in Manila. But he said a check with the Comelec records in the district showed there was no voter carrying that name.
Even Ferdinand Marcos Junior, the only son and namesake of the late strongman, admitted he does not personally know Acosta although he is one of the senatorial candidates in the KBL lineup.
Lawyer Vicente Millora, the KBL chairman, said they would abide by the Comelec decision by not filing a petition asking the agency to reconsider its ruling as he emphasized:
“The disqualification of Acosta is his own doing. His actuations, his media interviews and his feud with Jay Sonza have strengthened the disqualification case against him.â€
Millora also lamented that Acosta has made the once-mighty KBL, the object of ridicule and the laughing stock of the Filipino people.
For instance,.Millora and other KBL leaders noted that Acosta was the only presidential candidate of the original 10 aspirants who has yet to be proclaimed since the campaign period for politicians seeking national elective positions in the May 10 polls started on February 9.
In one of his rare media interviews, Acosta claimed he was busy with his work as an international financial consultant and thus, has barely the time to join the presidential debates organized media and business organizations.
However, KBL sources, who requested anonymity, pointed out it was the party leaders themselves, including Millora, who are to blame for the political embarrassment caused by Acosta’s actuations.
The sources disclosed that the KBL agreed to adopt Acosta as its standard bearer when he filed his certificate of candidacy for president before the Comelec as an independent.
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