A candidate is one who seeks to serve an office or privilege or who offers himself to the same.
2. What is the effect of filing a certificate of candidacy by a person holding a public appointive office or position?
Any person holding a public appointive office or position, including active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and officers and employees in the government-owned and controlled corporations, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from his office upon filing of his certificate of candidacy.
3. What is the effect of the filing of a certificate of candidacy by an elective provincial, municipal or city officials?
Any elective, whether national or local, who has filed a certificate of candidacy for the same or any other office shall not be considered resigned from office.
4. Who may be disqualified as a candidate?
Any candidate, who in an action or protest in which he is a party, is declared by final decision of a competent court guilty, or found by the Commission of having:
• Given money or other material consideration to influence, induce or corrupt the voters or public officials performing electoral functions;
• Committed acts of terrorism to enhance his candidacy;
• Spent in his election campaign an amount in excess of that allowed by the Code;
• Solicited, received or made any contribution prohibited;
5. Who may be considered as nuisance candidate?
The Commission may, motu proprio or upon verified petition of an interested party, refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy if it is shown that said certificate has been filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate of candidacy has been filed and this prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.
6. Can the election of an alien erase the disqualification? Why?
The people of a locality cannot, even unanimously, change the requirements of the Constitution and the Local Government Code. The electorate has no power to permit a foreigner owing his total allegiance to another country or at least a stateless individual owing no allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines to preside over as mayor of their city (Ihra Faith C Magno, Contributor)
