Comelec: Only spouses can substitute for village bets

Barangay candidates can only be substituted by their spouses to minimize meddling by people with vested interests, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned. “Sometimes the real contest is among the ranking politicians who are behind the barangay candidates,” Comelec Chair George Garcia told reporters. “Problems arise when politicians meddle in the barangay elections, which are supposedly apolitical, that’s why candidates do not belong to political parties,” he added. He said the Comelec would require those who will run for barangay posts in the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to identify their spouses in their certificates of candidacy. The spouse-only substitution for barangay candidates was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003.

—Dona Z. Pazzibugan