No Sara Duterte listed for presidential race as COC filing closes

The Harbor Garden Tent at Sofitel hotel in Pasay City where aspirants for national posts in the 2022 elections file their certificates of candidacy. INQUIRER.net/John Eric Mendoza

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio appears to have abandoned plans to run for the presidency in the 2022 elections after failing to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) to run for the highest office in the country.

Despite pleas from supporters, Duterte-Carpio did not take part in the filing of COCs at the Sofitel hotel in Manila, leaving them disappointed.

She was rumored to be meeting with her supporters at a hotel in Manila, based on images circulating on the internet, but this was quickly quashed by one of her staff members, who claimed she was not the woman in the pictures.

Likewise, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque did not pursue his Senate campaign since he said he would only run if the Davao City mayor ran.

He also was not able to file his COC for senator.

Roque earlier said Duterte-Carpio’s supporters held a vigil at Malacañang to convince her to run for president.

READ: Roque says ready to file COC for senator, but will wait for Sara Duterte to file for presidency

Duterte-Carpio earlier filed a COC for reelection as Davao City mayor for the third and final time.

Hours before the COC filing in Manila closed, Duterte-Carpio issued a statement she is pushing her bid for reelection, even hinting that she will no longer run for any other post if she finishes her term as Davao mayor.

READ: Hours before COC filing deadline, Sara Duterte says to push through reelection bid as Davao City mayor

Ahead of that, Duterte-Carpio said she would finish her tenure as mayor before transitioning to another position.

READ: Sara Duterte again rejects calls to run for president, wants to complete term as mayor

Should she win in the 2022 elections, it will be her fourth term. She served her first term from 2010 to 2013, her second term from 2016 to 2019, and her third term from 2019 to 2022.

In September, she said she would not run for president in the 2022 polls, citing her agreement with her father that only one of them would vie for a national position.

READ: No more presidential run for Sara Duterte in 2022; to seek reelection as mayor

READ: Sara not running for president after Duterte takes VP

President Rodrigo Duterte had previously declared he intended to run for vice president, even accepting the nomination from his party, the PDP-Laban.

He was nominated with Senator Bong Go as the presidential candidate of the party.

However, in a surprise move on Oct. 2, the second day of the filing of COCs, Duterte decided to step down from the presidency and retire from politics instead.

Senator Go would run as PDP-Laban’s vice president instead, having filed his COC.

President Duterte also claimed that her daughter would run for president with Go as her running mate.

READ: Duterte ‘retiring,’ Go runs for VP – but eyes still on Sara

Substitution possible until Nov. 15

In the Philippine electoral system, political aspirants can still run for their desired position even outside the COC filing.

They can substitute a candidate who has filed his or her COC but it is subject to certain conditions.

Under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) rules, political parties and coalitions that field a candidate can choose to substitute that candidate if one of three things happens after the COC filing: the candidate dies, withdraws, or is disqualified by the polling body.

The schedule for the substitution period varies per election season.

For the 2022 elections, if a candidate dies, withdraws, dies, or is disqualified by final judgment, a substitute candidate can file their COC by November 15, 2021.

This COC will reflect the name of the substitute.

November 15 is also the last day for substituting party-list nominees who withdraw.

The substitute can also file their COC from November 16, 2021, to midday of May 9, 2022 (Election Day), provided the replacement and the original candidate have the same surname.

Substitutes cannot run in case of withdrawals during this period.

Midday of Election Day is also the deadline for substituting party-list nominees because of death or incapacity.

However, in Duterte-Carpio’s case, she is not affiliated with a national party that fielded a presidential candidate that she can substitute.