The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said aspirants in the May 2022 polls may still withdraw their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for as long as its done before Election Day.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez, however, said that voluntary withdrawals cannot be substituted.
"Withdrawal is a matter of right. You can withdraw at any time. The issue is whether you can be replaced or substituted," he said in a press briefing Monday, Nov. 15.
The period for substitution due to withdrawal of COCs ended on Nov. 15.
"After this date, you can only be substituted if withdrawal is involuntary, which means death or disqualification. You cannot be substituted if you voluntarily withdrew," said Jimenez.
"If you were involuntarily withdrawn, meaning you died or disqualified, you can be substituted...No longer necessary to be a partymate or relative, as long as they have the same surname," he added.
Meanwhile, Kontra Daya has asked aspirants in the national posts who have withdrawn their candidacies from one party and/or substituted for a candidate from another political party to be transparent.
"In the spirit of transparency, they should fully disclose when they resigned from their erstwhile party and when they took their oath as members of the new one," the group said in a statement.
"While Sara Duterte's resignation from HnP (Hugpong ng Pagbabago) and oath-taking with Lakas are publicly known, we cannot say the same for Rodrigo Duterte and Bong Go. If they are indeed transparent as public officials, they should fully disclose when they resigned from PDP-Laban and when they took their oath as members of Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS)," added Kontra Daya.