Running for public office is no joke so filing one’s certificate of candidacy (COC) ought to be taken seriously. Much like anything else in the Philippines, though, many people make light of the event and use it as an opportunity to pull pranks.

Most people just laugh it off but not Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who in a statement today urged the Senate to hurry up in passing a bill he authored that would punish “nuisance candidates” after noticing many of them during the COC filing these past several days.

In the Philippines, nuisance candidates are those who filed a certificate of candidacy but were rejected by the Commission on Election (COMELEC).

According to the Omnibus Election Code, aspirants are rejected if they were found to have filed for candidacy to put the election process in mockery or disrepute, to cause confusion among voters by using names similar to other candidates, or other acts that show the person has no bona fide intention to run for the office.

“We can see those who filed for candidacy who are obviously not serious,” Gatchalian said in his statement in Filipino.

And he’s right. Just this week, the filing of COCs was filled with outrageous characters. Think bad American Idol auditions, but for politics.

There’s that guy who falsely claimed to be the ex-husband of actress Kris Aquino, and another one who said he used to date Duterte supporter and former Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

One guy filed a COC under the name Jesus Christ, while another wearing a swastika called himself the “Hitler of this generation.”

If Gatchalian gets his way, future elections will have much less of these jokesters.

Senate Bill 911, which Gatchalian filed in 2016, seeks to amend sections of the Omnibus Election Code so that nuisance candidates will be charged a PHP 50,000 (US$925.56) fine and be deemed guilty of an election offense.

“The onslaught of candidates who do not intend to launch a viable campaign is wasting the precious time and resources of COMELEC,” the bill reads.

In his statement today, Gatchalian said the bill would discourage those not serious about running from filing COCs in the first place.

“I hope this proposed bill is passed soon to discourage those who aren’t really serious about running from filing COCs,” he said.

So no more Archangel Lucifers running for President?

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