Macalintal lauds Comelec for putting order to candidate substitution

FILE PHOTO: Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Erwin Garcia (right) and veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The ban on substitution of candidates after the last day of filing of certificates of candidacies (COC) puts an end to the “nefarious political strategy” of some politicians aiming to gain an advantage for their personal interests, an election lawyer said.

In a statement on Thursday, Atty. Romulo Macalintal also lauded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for its move to end the “unscrupulous practice of some political parties” of substituting candidates after the last day of COC filing.

READ: ‘No more candidate substitution due to withdrawal after COC deadline’

This deceitful act, Macalintal stressed, results in a mockery of the elections.

“Indeed, such decision puts an end to such a nefarious political strategy employed by some politicians to suit their personal interest; and I am very happy Comelec has properly implemented it,” he said.

“It takes an election law practitioner in the person of Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia to put order in our electoral processes for which he should be congratulated and admired,” he added.

Macalintal also mentioned that Comelec’s initiative has been sustained by the Supreme Court in the case of Federico vs. Comelec (GR No. 199612, 22 January 2013), where the high court upheld the poll body’s authority to set a due date for candidate substitution.

“According to the Supreme Court, setting a deadline for substitution is legally justified since withdrawal is voluntary and a candidate should have had sufficient time to ponder his candidacy,” he added.

READ: Comelec to toughen rule on candidate substitution

On Wednesday, Garcia announced that the Commission en banc approved his proposal to ban substitution after the last day of filing COCs on grounds of withdrawal from candidacy.

Garcia, however, stressed that substitution after filing the COC would still be allowed if the candidate died or was disqualified.

The substitute candidate must share the same family name or belong to the same political party as the deceased or disqualified candidate, he added.