Comelec won’t move on Diño’s withdrawal unless Duterte agrees to be his substitute

The Commission on Elections won't move any further as regards Volunteers Against Crime and Crorruption chairman Martin Diño's withdrawal of his certificate of candidacy for president and his designation of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as their party PDP-Laban's substitute presidential candidate, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said on Tuesday.

"We're not doing anything. Basically, Diño filed his withdrawal, so okay, noted," Bautista told reporters. 

"As to whether or not we will accept the substition, I think first you need the consent [of Duterte]. We don't know if Mayor Duterte is really going to run. At this point, I think this is a hypothetical question," he added.

Duterte's intent will only be made official with a COC and a certificate of nomination and acceptance from PDP-Laban, Bautista said.

Bautista said the law department's petition to deny due course, which counts Diño among the nuisance candidates, has not yet been dismissed.

"Buhay pa naman ['yung petition]. Pero [with the withdrawal], mas madali sa amin 'yun," Bautista said.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim said there was a previous case in which a senatorial candidate withdrew his COC for senator and the nuisance petition against him was dismissed for being "moot and academic."

Diño filed his withdrawal last October 29, citing Duterte as his substitute, two days after PDP-Laban passed a resolution compelling Duterte to be their standard-bearer if Diño steps aside or is disqualified. -NB, GMA News