MANILA, Philippines - Even appointed officials who will be nominated by party-list groups for the May polls will also be required to resign their government posts, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday.

Although it is the organizations and not the nominees that voters will be voting for in the party list, Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that those nominated by participating groups are covered by the Supreme Court ruling as well.

The Supreme Court earlier decided that appointed officials could stay in their posts even after filing their certificates of candidacy (COCs). It reversed its decision last Friday.

In the case of party-list participants, the appointed officials will be deemed resigned from government posts upon acceptance of their nomination.

Larrazabal said the Comelec had issued a ruling to this effect even before the tribunal's decision.

Comelec Resolution 8697, promulgated in November 2009, states that "party-list nominees who are holding public appointive office shall be considered ipso facto resigned upon their acceptance of their nomination."

The poll body will accept nominees from part-ylist groups until March 26.

The Comelec en banc will discuss whether to disqualify nominees who wouldn't leave their government posts. Although it can only win 3 seats, a party-list group submits 5 names to the Comelec, in the event that any of the nominees is disqualified or backs out.

Out of the almost 300 groups that filed, only 187 have been included in the ballot. Of these, only 150 are accredited, while the rest had their applications denied but have filed appeals with the Comelec and the Supreme Court. (Newsbreak)