FAST FACTS: Candidate substitution in past polls

Reynaldo Santos Jr

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FAST FACTS: Candidate substitution in past polls
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's substitution is nothing new, as candidate substitutions also happened in previous elections

MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte finally made his 2016 presidential bid official after filing his certificate of candidacy through a representative on Friday, November 27.

He is the substitute candidate for Martin Diño, who originally filed his candidacy at the last minute on October 16 as the presidential bet of PDP-Laban. Diño withdrew his COC on October 29 and nominated Duterte to take his place.

Duterte’s substitution was already expected even before Diño withdrew his candidacy.

The process of candidate substitution had already been witnessed in past elections, with the following personalities involved:

2007 senatorial election
from Jericho Petilla to Cesar Montano

Former energy secretary Jericho Petilla’s candidacy for next year’s election is not his first attempt to run for senator. In 2006, Petilla – then the governor of Leyte – filed his COC for a shot at the 2007 senatorial race.

He changed his mind, however, when his mother – then Leyte first district representative Remedios Petilla – decided to retire from politics and declined to replace him as governor. Petilla then withdrew his senatorial candidacy and sought reelection.

His party, Lakas-CMD, substituted him with actor Cesar Montano. It was Montano’s first attempt to enter politics.

However, Montano ranked 18th in the senatorial elections and lost.

2010 congressional election
from Richard Gomez to Lucy Torres

Apart from Montano, actor Richard Gomez also ran and lost in the 2007 senatorial elections.

In 2010, Gomez again made an attempt to enter politics, this time as representative of Leyte’s 4th district. But luck wasn’t on his side, as he was disqualified due to his failure to establish his residency in the same district.

The choice for a substitute was easy. His wife, Lucy Torres, who was born and raised in Ormoc City, replaced him. Ormoc City is under Leyte’s 4th district.

Torres won the congressional race. She was, however, ousted from her seat just days before the 2013 elections due to questions of validity in substituting Gomez.

The case didn’t affect her successful bid for  reelection in 2013.

2013 senatorial election
from Israel Virgines to Eddie Villanueva

Educator Israel Virgines was first seen in the 2010 elections, when he ran for senator under the Bangon Pilipinas Party (BPP) of Eddie Villanueva. All BPP candidates lost.

Virgines returned in the 2013 elections, and filed his candidacy again for a Senate seat. He was the last aspirant to file a COC for senator.

But two months after the COC filing, Virgines withdrew his candidacy. He was suddenly replaced by Villanueva, who was joining the senatorial elections for the first time after two failed presidential bids.

However, Villanueva lost, ranking 19th in the senatorial elections.

2013 gubernatorial election
from Casimiro Ynares Jr to Rebecca Ynares

Since 1992, the Ynares clan of Rizal has maintained its hold on the gubernatorial seat in the province.

In the 2013 elections, former Rizal governor Casimiro Ynares Jr filed his candidacy for a return to the provincial capitol. He was governor from 1992 to 2001, and again from 2004 to 2007.

In between those years, his immediate family held the same position – his wife, Rebecca, was governor from 2001 to 2004, and his son, Casimiro III, from 2007-2013.

However, the patriarch suddenly withdrew his candidacy and nominated his wife for substitution. She eventually won, ushering her return as governor.

She is running for reelection in the 2016 elections.

2013 gubernatorial election
from Edgardo Angara to Arthur Angara

After serving in Senate for a long time, then last-termer Senator Edgardo Angara decided to run in his hometown Aurora as governor in the 2013 elections.

He chose his nephew, Rommel, as his running mate, and was even among the first to file their COC in the province.

Angara, however, backed out of the race just two months after he filed his COC. His brother, then outgoing Baler mayor Arthur, substituted for him.

While Rommel won as vice governor, Arthur lost in the gubernatorial race.

Substitution not granted

In the 2013 elections, Rappler earlier reported that 471 original COC filers withdrew and filed for substitution.

Only 446 petitions for substitution were granted, while the remaining 25 were declined for the following reasons:

  • Lack of proper documentation
  • Unauthorized signatures
  • Failure of substitute candidate to meet requirements
  • Invalidation of the withdrawal of the original candidate

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) allows candidates to be substituted only by someone who belongs to the same political party. – Rappler.com

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