MANILA, Philippines — For former agrarian reform secretary and senatorial aspirant John Castriciones, the candidate substitution during elections was “successful” when President Rodrigo Duterte won in 2016.
“Well, substitution policy became very prominent during the term of President Duterte and it became successful because eventually, he was elected as the president,” he said on INQside Look on Wednesday.
In 2015, Duterte withdrew his certificate of candidacy (COC) for Davao City mayor and formalized his bid to join the presidential race which led to his victory in the 2016 polls.
This year’s COC filing, Castriciones filed his candidacy for senator under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), noting that he is affiliated with the faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, ally of Duterte.
When asked if he is in favor of the candidate substitution, he answered that it depends on the situation.
“Well, of course, that would depend on how it is used. If it is abused, then definitely, it is not good,” he said.
“For me, if the law so allows substitution at the moment, from a legal point of view, then it should continue. But, if there is a discontentment amongst our people, feeling that it is being abused, then definitely, we can legislate a law in order to prohibit the substitution,” he added.
“Well, there are some sectors of our society who are calling for the abolition of the substitution clause under our Comelec laws and later on, during the deliberation in the Senate, in the Congress, probably, if they find that it is really being abused, then definitely it should be abolished,” Castriciones went on.
On Tuesday, Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio pulled out her COC for reelection as mayor of Davao City, sparking speculations that she will run in the national polls.