On Monday, October 25, the Senate filed a bill that seeks to ban the substitution of an electoral candidate who voluntarily withdraws their candidacy in any elections.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed the Senate Bill No. 2439 together with Senators Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Joel Villaueva and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Senate Bill No. 2439 proposes to amend the Omnibus Election Code that a candidate can only be replaced if incapacitated or disqualified and remove ‘withdrawal’ as one of the options for a candidate substitution.
The law currently allows substitution until a set deadline if the candidate of an accredited political party dies, or has been disqualified for any cause, or chooses to withdraw from the electoral race.
According to Senator Gatchalian, it has long been abused, noting that it was a “mockery of the process of the filing of certificates of candidacies”.
“Sagrado ang balota. Kaya dapat lamang na pahalagahan natin ang paghahain ng kandidatura tuwing eleksyon”, Gatchalian said. “The intention of the law is clear. That is to make the elections efficient and transparent. It’s just that some abused it.”
However, based on the rules of Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the 2022 elections, the substitute of an electoral aspirant who is registered in a political party that withdrew their candidacy, was disqualified or died may file a COC on or before Nov. 15, 2021. No substitution due to withdrawal shall be allowed after that date.
Photo Credit: Facebook/WinGatchalian74
