President Benigno S. Aquino III accompanied Liberal Party (LP) presidential bets Mar Roxas and vice president Leni Robrebo in the early morning mass at the Manila Cathedral Thursday, October 15, before heading to Palacio del Gobernador, where the Comelec office is situated. The LP tandem Mar and Leni later filed their Certificate of Candidacy (COC) as standard bearers of the Liberal Party for the 2016 national elections. (MNS photo)
MANILA, Oct 21 (Mabuhay) – Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas has asked the Commission on Elections to disqualify and declare a nuisance a namesake who also filed a certificate of candidacy for president.
The former interior secretary, whose full name is Manuel Araneta Roxas II, alleged that Manuel Antonio Roxas, if allowed to run, would “confuse voters (who) may unintentionally vote for respondent Manuel Antonio Roxas.”
“Respondent Manuel Antonio Roxas clearly filed his COC for President to create confusion among the voters through the similarity between his name and that of petitioner Manuel Araneta Roxas,” the LP stalwart said in his petition before the Comelec.
Manuel Antonio Roxas, 67, filed his COC on October 16, 2015 and wrote “Mar Roxas” as his nickname.
The more prominent Roxas said he had always been known as “Mar” and had used this moniker in several elections.
He expressed fear that if Manuel Antonio Roxas’ COC is not canceled, the latter’s name would appear next to his in the ballot.
Roxas also alleged that his namesake did not have the means to wage a national campaign for the presidency and had no intention to carry out a genuine campaign.
Meanwhile, the Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the commission, on its own, was set to recommend the declaration as nuisance candidates of more than a hundred who filed for the presidency last week.
One hundred thirty individuals filed their certificates of candidacy for the president, the highest since the EDSA people power revolution.
(MNS)