Candidate substitution
THE House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a proposed legislation limiting grounds for candidate substitution during elections.
House Bill (HB) No.10524 seeks to ban election “placeholders” by amending Batas Pambansa (BP) 881 or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
Specifically, the proposed law limits the grounds for substitution to death, permanent incapacity or disqualification.
It defines “permanent incapacity” as a mental or physical impairment which renders the candidate unable to perform the duties corresponding to the position she/he is running for.
It will recalled that in 2015, then presidential bet Martin Dino of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) withdrew his COC.
He then nominated Rodrigo R. Duterte to be his substitute for PDP-Laban standard bearer in the 2016 presidential elections.
Proponents said HB No. 10524 is seen to prevent a mockery of the electoral system through the use of “placeholders” to beat the deadline in the filing of COCs as set by the Comelec.
For the upcoming 2025 off-season national and local elections, the filing of Certiticates of candidacy is from October 1 to 8.
In the past, politicians resorted to the use of “placeholders” to reduce election expenses.
Kasi kapag nalaman ng mga botante na isa kang kandidato ay dudumugin ka ng mga tao na humihingi ng kung anu-anong tulong.
