Vice President Leni Robredo has called on revisiting the country’s substitution law to prevent its misuse.
Robredo said that a “major substitution” incident back in the 2016 elections led to the trend of making placeholders file certificates of candidacy (COCs) while renewing her calls to revisit the laws on substitution “to plug the loopholes” in the electoral system.
“Sana i-revisit iyong batas tungkol sa substitution para hindi ito naaabuso. Kasi mula noong nagkaroon ng major substitution noong 2016, parang uso na ngayon na naglalagay ng placeholder tapos iyong iba, iba iyong magfa-file,” Robredo said.
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“So sa akin, napapanahon na i-revisit talaga iyong batas, i-plug iyong mga loopholes bakit siya naaabuso,” Robredo added.
Although she did not mention any names in the 2016 elections, President Rodrigo Duterte substituted for then PDP-Laban bet and now Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño.
Several aspirants in the coming elections are believed to be placeholders bets, with some political parties even admitting that COCs were filed to save spots for other aspirants.
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The dates for the filing of COC were between October 1 to 8, but the substitution deadline is until November 15.
After the substitution period has lapses, the Commission on Election will finalize the list of candidates. (AW)
