INTRAMUROS, Manila — In a bulletin issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in its official its social media page, 47 senatorial aspirants have been declared as nuisance candidates.

The poll body posted a list of disqualified candidates to inform the public with the stipulation that the disqualifications may still be appealed.

Among the names listed by the poll body is Jovelyn Aceron, who based on the documents she has submitted to Comelec, would have been a good candidate for senator, being a certified public accountant, real estate broker, and former overseas Filipino worker with high hopes of change in the country’s governance.

Also on the list as a possible nuisance candidate in next year’s senatorial race is Joel Apolinario, founder of the Kapa Community Ministry International, which ran the Ponzi scheme. He and other leaders of his group were sentenced to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of eight counts of syndicated estafa.

Completing the list are those who had previously been declared not eligible to run for senator, among them Daniel Magtira of Tondo, who falsely claimed he was married to celebrity Kris Aquino and has now declared he is the fiancé of Senator Imee Marcos; Sixto Lagare, who is now running for the fourth time with the advocacy of enacting an anti-political dynasty law and changing the country’s current bench trial to the jury system similar to that in the United States; and Alexander Encarnacion, an electrician and a carpenter who was turned down for the third time by the Comelec after admitting that he did not have the financial resources to launch a nationwide campaign.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, the Comelec may, motu proprio or upon a verified petition of an interested party, refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy (CoC) and declare the aspirant as a nuisance candidate.

Prior to the announcement of disqualified candidates, Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia disclosed that only 66 of the 183 individuals who filed their CoCs for senator may be included in the official list of candidates for the May 12, 2025 midterm elections for local and national positions.