A preposterous hallmark of the Philippines political process is the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) proclivity to disqualify sitting officials within months or weeks of the next election after they have served almost the entirety of their term in public office. On December 8, Comelec disqualified sitting Isabela Province Governor and progressive leader Grace Padaca after contested election results allegedly showed former Governor Benjamin Dy won the race by 1,051 votes. The recount overturned Padaca’s earlier margin of 17,007 on the basis that many ballots were marked by a single person’s handwriting. The Comelec also disqualified Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza. The poll body deducted 20,236 votes from Mendoza by virtue of so-called “spurious marks” and possible “mis-appreciation” of handwriting on the ballots. The decision favored former Governor Roberto Pagdanganan who overtook Mendoza in the recount with a 4,321 margin. ......