WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy’s featured article for this week is written by Philipp Centenni Ruel, a student of WVSU College of Law. As with the first five papers we have released over the last four weeks which discussed about the interplay of electoral laws and jurisprudence, Ruel provides a sharp analysis as to how some politicians have exploited the rules on the substitution of candidates within our electoral laws.
In the sixth chapter entitled “Exploiting Electoral Exchanges: The Rules on Substitution of Candidates in the Philippine Electoral System”, Ruel examines the recent trend of politicians using and abusing the legal option allowing candidates to give up his/her candidacy to other candidates as a mechanism for emergency circumstances where a candidate is incapacitated or for some other serious reasons, compelled to withdraw his/her candidacy. Ruel, however, observes that there are numerous instances where substitution has been put in the national spotlight which he calls an electoral fiasco. Citing the 2016 substitution of then presidential candidate and now former President Rodrigo Duterte replacing Martin Diño, and Sarah Duterte as a substitute Vice-Presidential candidate replacing Lyle Fernando Uy, the author notes that the substitution card has been mainly a game plan not only for national politicians but has been replicated in congressional and party-list seats, as well.
Ruel cites COMELEC’s leniency towards the matter at hand as one of the reasons that explain why the substitution mechanism has been abused and utilized by politicians. The author argues that the exploitation of the rules on substitution empowers, rather than limit political dynasties. He calls the apparent abuse of substitution mechanisms not only a political gimmick but warns that it has become an electoral norm that coincides with the flawed system of Philippine elections. Ruel provides that the apparent abuse of the rules on substitution is a sham and mockery of the election process, and if taken for granted, would pave the way for the erosion of the spirit of democratic selection processes.
The WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy (JLA) is an academic journal committed to the development of legal scholarship for and from the Visayas Region and Southern Philippines. In preparation of the journal’s official launch by September 23rd 2022, online versions of the seven stand-alone chapters will be shared to the reading public every week. For inquiries and to submit your original manuscript for publication, please email the Journal’s Executive Editor – Clyde Gacayan at [email protected].
