The Commission on Elections (Comelec) listened Monday to the impassioned plea of disqualified presidentiables, vice presidentiables, and senatoriables that they be included in the list of candidates for the May 10, 2010 polls arguing that they possess all the qualifications for the office for which they filed their certificates of candidacy as required by the Constitution.

The candidates facing disqualification also argued that while affiliation with a political party could be a factor for the victory of a candidate, this has never been made part of the requirement by the country’s fundamental law in running for an elective post.

The aspirants, 20 of them are running for president, two for vice president, and the rest for senator, lamented Comelec’s issuance of Resolution 8713 listing down only eight candidates for president, eight for vice president and 58 for senator, virtually disqualifying the rest of the aspirants from the race without giving them a chance to be heard.

A total of 90 aspirants for president, 11 for vice president, and 158 for senator filed certificates of candidacy before midnight of Dec. 1, 2009, the deadline set by the Comelec for the purpose. “It is a great irony that after they were left out from the list of qualified candidates for president, vice president and senator, we are now given a chance to be heard. This is virtually a due process in reverse,” the presidentiables lamented.

The Comelec, in a move considered unprecedented, decided to tackle in one sitting all of 48 motions for reconsideration strongly opposing Resolution 8713 obviously to speed up the legal process and to keep on target its preparations for next year’s major political exercise.

Among those who were heard Monday were the oppositions/motions for reconsideration filed by presidentiables Oliver O. Lozano, Rev. Atty. Elly Velez Pamatong, environmentalist Jesus Nicanor Perlas, former Rep. Mario B. Crespo or Mark Jimenez, and Felix C. Cantal of Philippine Green Republican Party (PGRP).

Cantal, represented by PGRP’s legal counsel Francisco B. Sibayan, asked the Comelec to review its en banc Resolution 8713 and consider him as candidate for president, Eduardo F. Orpilla for vice president and Jesus Abejar, Agnes T. Afable, Raul J. Barbasa, Fred N. Bello, Pol L. Bulilan, Elpidio D. Cayabyab, Melchor Chavez, Amado C. Combate, Victorial Gonzalez, Celedonio C. Ompaid, and Rogelio P. Poblete for senator.

Sibayan argued that PGRP is a registered political party as early as Jan. 22, 2004 and Cantal, its presidential candidate is a “political economist” with a doctorate degree in political economics from Oxford University, along with a Ph.Ds in Arts and Letters from Columbia University and Mathematics from Harvard University.

PGRP lamented the adoption by the Comelec en banc of the recommendation of its Law Department that PGRP has yet to establish its political track records, capacity and capability to launch a credible nationwide campaignl, hence its candidates, for the time being, must be denied of the right to be voted upon.