Bill banning candidate swap via withdrawal gets House OK
THE House of Representatives yesterday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to remove a candidate’s withdrawal of his/her certificate of candidacy (COC) as a ground for substitution of candidates by political parties.
With 195 votes, the panel approved House Bill (HB) No. 10524, which seeks to amend Section 77 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
In 2015, then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) as a presidential candidate after substituting for a party mate in the PDP-Laban, the late Martin Diño, who withdrew his presidential candidacy and instead filed a COC for Pasay City mayor.
Duterte won in the 2016 presidential elections and stepped down in 2022 after finishing his six-year term.
HB 10524 acknowledges the need to strengthen the country’s electoral system “by preventing the mockery of the electoral system by fielding candidates merely as placeholders just to comply with the electoral deadline of filing for candidacy.”
The measure includes permanent incapacity as an additional ground for substitution of candidates to ensure that only those who are put in front of the public during the campaign period will be the ones to serve the people should they be elected.
“We need to include permanent incapacity as an additional ground for substitution of candidates to ensure that only those who are put in front of the public during the campaign period will be the ones to serve the people should they be elected,” said Speaker Martin Romualdez said.
HB 10524 defines permanent incapacity “as a mental or physical impairment, or both, based on a verified medical report of a licensed physician, rendering the candidate unable to perform the elected position’s duties, and which appears reasonably certain to continue without substantial improvement until the term of office which the candidate seeks to be elected for.”
Authors of the bill include Reps. Johnny Pimentel, Eduardo Villanueva, Ma. Victoria Co-Pilar, Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, Florida Robes, Maximo Dalog, Jr., Wowo Fortes, Reynante Arrogancia, and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe.
