The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday (Nov. 10) said candidates who have withdrawn their certificate of candidacy (COC) may still substitute other candidates, provided they belong to the same party.
“Dati, kapag mayroon nag-withdraw, hindi na siya puwedeng mag-substitute. Ngayon, sa bago nating guidelines, iyon pong nag-withdraw na kandidato ay puwede po siyang mag-substitute. Ang requirement lang po sa pag-substitute is dapat kapartido mo iyong kandidato na iyong papalitan mo na nag-withdraw,” Comelec Director Elaiza Sabile-David said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
According to David, a candidate belonging to a different party who wishes to substitute another candidate from another party is not a bar to substitution.
“Hindi po problema na ang isang kandidato ay kabilang sa kunwari Partido A and ang gusto niyang i-substitute na kandidato na nag-withdraw ay kabilang sa Partido B ay hindi po iyon hadlang para siya po ay mag-substitute.”
“So, as long as mayroon siyang nomination ng partido at in-acknowledge ng partido na iyon ay siya ay miyembro na ng partido na iyon, maaari na siyang mag-substitute ng kandidato na nag-withdraw,” she said.
Moreover, David said independent candidates cannot be substituted as they do not belong to any parties.
“Isa pong independent candidate cannot be substituted. It’s understood na wala siyang kinabibilangang party dahil ang rule is that the substitute must belong to a party at kapartido niya iyong kandidato na isa-substitute.” – PG – bny
