The admission of political parties that they have fielded a placeholder in an elective position would not suffice to declare the filer of the certificate of candidacy as a nuisance candidate, Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez said Wednesday.
Jimenez made the statement after some parties reportedly declared that some of their 2022 bets who recently filed their COCs are mere placeholders.
“A mere declaration to the contrary wouldn’t, in my opinion, be sufficient to overcome the intention to run which is manifested in the verified COC. The lack of a bona fide intention to run needs to be proven,” Jimenez told reporters in a Viber message.
On Monday, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) stalwart Prospero Pichay reportedly admitted that they only fielded temporary candidates for president and vice president.
A day after, he retracted his statement.
On the other hand, Jimenez said the Comelec will give an official position on the proposed removal of the option of substitution from the election laws “when we are officially furnished with a copy of the said proposal.”
On Tuesday, House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez proposed an almost absolute ban on the substitution of candidates by political parties to put an end on the supposed mockery of the elections.
This suggestion was backed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, saying there is a need for a review of the provision on substitution in the Omnibus Election Code, saying that it has been “abused.”
Article IX, Section 77 of Omnibus Election Code provides that: “If after the last day for the filing of certificates of candidacy, an official candidate of a registered or accredited political party dies, withdraws or is disqualified for any cause, only a person belonging to, and certified by, the same political party may file a certificate of candidacy to replace the candidate who died, withdrew or was disqualified.”
Under the Comelec’s calendar for the 2022 polls, substitution for a candidate in a national or local post can be filed from the end of the COC filing period until November 15, 2021.
Moreover, Jimenez explained why individuals who turned 18 years old cannot be automatically registered with Comelec.
“Registration is necessary to determine a person’s eligibility to vote in local elections. So there would still be a need for an 18 [year old] o to inform the COMELEC of his residence information, and thus sign up to vote in that locality. Things would be different if we had a centralized residence registry – but we don’t,” he said.
Jimenez made the statement after presidential aspirant and labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman said voter registration of individuals who turned 18 years old should be “automatic.”—AOL, GMA News
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