Candidates can be replaced if disqualified, says Guanzon

Candidates can be replaced if they are disqualified ahead of Election Day, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Senior Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said on Wednesday.

Guanzon made the explanation days after the Comelec Second Division junked the petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the 2022 elections due to lack of merit.

“Yung petitioners, ayon sa Second Division resolution, nagkamali po sila dahil dapat yung ground lamang nila sa cancellation isa lang, that Marcos made a false representation sa COC kung kaya dapat ikansela ang kanyang COC,” Guanzon said in a Facebook Live.

(The petitioners, according to the Second Division resolution, made a mistake. They should have cited only one ground for cancellation and that is Marcos made a false representation, thus his COC should be canceled.)

Guanzon is a member of the Comelec First Division, which is handling a disqualification case against Marcos. The other members are Commissioners Marlon Casquejo and Aimee Ferolino.

According to Guanzon, a cancellation case is different from a disqualification case in which a disqualified candidate can be substituted by someone who has the same surname and is under the same political party.

“Anong resulta kapag nakansela ang COC? Ibig sabihin sa simula pa lang dapat invalid or void ang kanyang COC, ibig sabihin parang wala siyang na-file na COC. Ang ibig sabihin po ng cancellation ang resulta po niyan hindi po siya pwedeng makapag-substitute,” Guanzon said.

(What happens when the COC is canceled? It means that from the very beginning the COC is invalid or void, like the candidate did not file a COC. The cancellation means he cannot be substituted.)

“Ano po ang kaibahan niyan sa doon po sa disqualification na hawak namin? ang resulta po pag siya ay na-disqualified ay puwede siyang mag-substitute basta kapartido niya at magkapareho ng apelyido. Hindi po kailangang magkamag-anak sila basta magkaapilyedo po sila at pareho sila ng political party,” she added.

(What is the difference between the cancellation and disqualification? A disqualified candidate can be substituted as long as the substitute belongs to the same party and has the same last name as the candidate. They don't have to be related as long as they have the same last name and the same political party.)

Guanzon said substitution for a disqualified candidate could be made before noon of Election Day, May 9. 

In a resolution issued January 17, the Comelec Second Division said the petition against Marcos' candidacy “merits summary dismissal” as Section 17 of the Omnibus Election Code provides that cancellation of COC may be filed “exclusively on the ground that any material representation contained therein as required under Section 74 hereof is false.”

The petitioners argued that Marcos' tax conviction in the 1990s disqualifies him from running for public office. But the Comelec division said before it can ascertain that Marcos’ representations in Items number 11 and 22 of his COC are false, there is a need to thoroughly examine the true import and actual effect of the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA).

Meanwhile, Guanzon rejected insinuations of delay in the resolution of the petitions to disqualify Marcos. 

“The resolution in time so that all parties can still have recourse under the law. So hindi naman po tama yung sinasabi na dinedelay namin para raw mapaburan yung isang partido (So it is not proper to say that we are delaying the process to favor one party),” she said.

According to Guanzon, either camp can appeal a division ruling to the Comelec En Banc, and then to the Supreme Court.

“Puwede pa pong umapela ang mga natalo sa aming Commission En Banc. Mula po sa Commission En Banc ang partido na hindi sang-ayon sa aming desisyon ay maaring umakyat po sa Korte Suprema doon po talaga ang final na desisyon sa mga issue na ito,” she said.

(They can still appeal to our Commission En Banc. From the Commission En Banc, the party that does not agree with our decision can go to the Supreme Court for the final decision on these issues.)

The petitioners have expressed intention to appeal the junking of their petition against Marcos' COC.

Marcos' spokesperson, Atty. Vic Rodriguez, earlier said they would respect any legal remedies that the petitioners will pursue. He expressed confidence that the Comelec division’s ruling would be upheld.   —KBK/VBL, GMA News