EXPLAINER: Can Rodrigo Duterte run for president?

Can Duterte run despite missing the October 16 deadline for

filing of candidacy? Can he be the substitute candidate of PDPLaban?
Background
Duterte did not file a Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president on
October 16, the deadline for the form set by the Comelec. Instead, he
filed his candidacy for Davao City mayor.
However, PDP-Laban, a political party of which he is a member, was able
to file a COC for president for one of their members, Martin Dio,
chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
Dios COC declares that he is running as PDP-Labans presidential
candidate, in the same way that Mar Roxas is the Liberal Partys
presidential candidate.
How does substitution work?
Under Comelec rules, political parties that field a presidential candidate
can choose to substitute that candidate if one of 3 things happen after
COC filing: the candidate dies, withdraws, or is disqualified by Comelec.
Around a week after COC filing, the Comelec sent Dio a letter informing
him they might declare him a nuisance candidate because he supposedly
lacks funds to carry out a nationwide campaign.
On October 29, Dio withdrew his presidential bid, saying he felt insulted
by the Comelec.
Dios withdrawal should now allow PDP-Laban, a legitimate political
party, to field a substitute candidate. The deadline for parties to
substitute their candidate is December 10, 2015.
After approving Dios withdrawal, PDP-Laban nominated Duterte as
their substitute. But at the time, Duterte was not yet convinced he
should run.
Fast-forward to November 21: Duterte announced he intends to seek the
presidency.
His intention now means he is ready to accept PDP-Labans nomination
to be their substitute candidate.
The glitch in Dios COC
But not so fast.
There was a glaring error in Dios COC.
Though the form he submitted is a Certificate of Candidacy for
President, typed under the instruction box is the sentence: I hereby
announce my candidacy for the position of MAYOR, City/Municipality of
Pasay Cityin the May 09, 2016 National and Local Elections.
Despite the mistake, the Comelec still accepted the form.
PDP-Laban national chairman Mike Sueo attributed the blunder to
clerical errors on the part of PDP-Laban staff. The mix-up allegedly

happened because the staff were fixing Dios papers at the same time
they were fixing the papers of the partys Pasay City mayoral candidate.
Can Duterte take Dios slot despite the error?
Its not clear what impact the error will have on everyone's plans.
But certain camps say it won't matter in the greater scheme of things.
"No need to correct. [It's] considered a minor error," PDP-Laban
president Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III told Rappler on Tuesday,
November 24.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Dutertes vice-presidential running mate,
and PDP-Laban lawyers believe the error was only technical in nature
and is not enough to render Dios slot invalid.
It was the intent. He didnt file in the City Hall of Pasay. [Comelec]
accepted it, Cayetano told reporters on Monday, November 23.
He was referring to the fact that Dio filed his COC in the main Comelec
office where all COCs for national posts president, vice president,
senator, house represenative are submitted.
Cayetano also pointed out that the Comelec sent Dio a letter
considering his disqualification as presidential candidate, not as mayoral
candidate. This makes it appear that the Comelec already recognizes
Dio's presidential, rather than mayoral bid.
The Comelec says it is still studying the case. Its spokesman James
Jimenez told Rappler on November 23 they will not comment on the
issue as long as Duterte has not yet filed his COC.
What now?
Duterte first has to withdraw his candidacy for Davao City mayor and
then submit two documents to the Comelec: a Certificate of Nomination
and Acceptance (CONA); and a new COC, this time, for president.
PDP-Laban's Sueo told Rappler that the CONA, signed by Pimentel, is
already with Duterte's lawyer, Lory Ata. It awaits Duterte's signature and
submission to the poll body.
In order to secure the party's blessing for his bid and his tandem with
Cayetano, Duterte said he plans to meet with PDP-Laban leaders next
week, or the week of November 30.
Pimentel told Rappler the tentative dates for their meeting are November
25 and November 30. He had previously said Duterte has the party's
blessing.
Duterte said he hopes to file his COC before December 10 and at the
most convenient time for everybody. rappler.com

Can Duterte substitute for Dio?

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) It won't be a walk in the park for
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to replace PDP-Laban standard bearer
Martin Dio.
In fact, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal pointed out that
Duterte could substitute for Dio.
"Because as reports have it, Mr. Dio filed his certificate of candidacy
(COC) for the position of mayor of Pasay City. Though it would appear
that his COC for president is defective," said Macalintal, referring to the
certificate of candidacy filed by Dio before the Commission on Elections.
Dio supposedly filled out a form for the mayoralty race in Pasay. Back in
October, Dio withdrew his candidacy and named Duterte as his
substitute.
Macalintal explained that the poll body on its own could deny the
substitution.
But lawyer Karen Jimeno said it was clear the position being filed for in
Dio's certificate of candidacy was for president.
"Then that might be considered a technicality which would be
disregarded in a sense. Meaning, that the position that was being filed
for would be recognized instead of a clerical error," said Jimeno.
But Macalintal disagreed.
"If Comelec would allow that, that a person would just be withdrawing
his COC because there was a clerical error, then other candidates who
also filed COCs might say we want also to change our position because
there was also clerical error in our COC," Macalintal said.
The lawyer also said that Dio can no longer amend his certificate of
candidacy.
"The filing of COC expired last October 16. And so there's no way by
which the COC of Dio could be amended," said Macalintal. "Because if
you amend the COC, it is as if you're filing a new COC."
Macalintal, however, said this is not the end of the road for Duterte. He
added that there is still a way, and this could only happen if one of the
candidates nominated by major political parties withdraws.
"For instance in the case of Mr. Seeres, if Mr. Seeres would withdraw
then the party of Seeres might adopt Mr. Duterte. And if Mr. Duterte
would become a member of the political party of Mr. Seeres then
Duterte could be the substitute for Seeres."
OFW party list Rep. Roy Seeres is also running for president.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, only a person belonging to the same
political party may file a certificate of candidacy to replace the candidate
who died, withdrew or was disqualified.

Duterte may no longer run for president by substitution

election lawyer
MANILA, Philippines Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal
expressed doubts, on Monday, that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
could validly substitute Martin Dio, the person who filed a certificate of
candidacy as the presidential candidate of the Partido Demokratiko
PilipinoLakas ng Bayan party.
Macalintal, in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, recalled
that Dio stated in his CoC that he was running for mayor of Pasay city
although he announced to the media that he was filing his COC to run
for president. There has been no satisfactory explanation for the error.
Duterte [therefore] cannot sub for Dio as candidate for president.
Dios CoC appeared to be defective; hence [it] cannot be the basis of
any substitution because it is as if Dio never filed such COC, the lawyer
explained.
Macalintal also recalled that Dio was among those asked by the
Commission on Elections to show cause why he should not be treated as
a nuisance candidate.
If Comelec later determines that Dino is a nuisance candidate for
president, then with more reason that Duterte cannot sub for Dio.
When a candidate is declared a nuisance, his CoC is denied due course
or cancelledthe effect of which is that it is as if no CoC was filed,
Macalintal said.
The lawyer also questioned Dutertes statement that he was running for
president due to the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal last week
that dismissed the disqualification case filed against Sen. Grace Poe for
allegedly not being a natural-born Filipino citizen.
If it [were] true that Duterte is running for president just because
Senator Poe was not disqualified by SET, then his stated reason for
running may not augur well or be disappointing to the electorate who
expected a Duterte running for good governance and not due to any
emotional feeling over the fate of the candidacy of any presidential
aspirant. Why should Poes qualification be the motivating factor for
Duterte to run? Why not a desire to really and fully serve the people?
Macalintal asked.
The lawyer said people should also know that the SET decision was in
connection with Poe sitting as senator, which could be appealed to all the
way to the Supreme Court.
Even if said case is decided by Supreme Court in favor of Poe, there is
still that issue of residency pending at Comelec, which will also
eventually reach the Supreme Court. These two issues of citizenship and
residency will reach the Supreme Court and only time can tell when
Supreme could reach a final verdict. Probably the election is already over

and we still dont have the final decisions on these issues, he added.
SFM
December 17,2015
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) The Commission on Elections
(Comelec) on Thursday (December 17) accepted Rodrigo Duterte's
certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.
The Davao City mayor, who is now on the list of candidates for the 2016
polls, is replacing Martin Dio as the standard bearer of PDP-Laban.
Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista said the en banc voted 6-1 in favor of
Duterte. However, Duterte's slot in the presidential race is still not final.
The Comelec on Friday (December 18) will hear a case that seeks to
block Duterte's candidacy whether or not Dio was a legitimate
candidate to begin with.
Ruben Castor, the petitioner, argued that Dio cannot be substituted
since his COC is flawed. Comelec clarified that Duterte's COC was
accepted because it follows the correct format and the presidential
aspirant complied with all the rules on substitution. But the poll body has
yet to judge on the legitimacy of his substitution for Dio.
Comelec Senior Commissioner Christian Robert Lim pointed out that
Comelec has two functions administrative and quasi-judicial. This
decision on Dutertes candidacy, he said, is administrative.
Duterte took his oath on December 8 before the notary of the Comelec
to formalize his candidacy for the 2016 presidential elections. He earlier
filed his COC, but it was his lawyer, Atty. Salvador Medialdea, who made
the filing on November 27 at the poll body's main office in Manila.
December 21,2015
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) A second disqualification case has
been filed against the candidacy of presidential aspirant Rodrigo "Rody"
Duterte.
Rizalito David with his lawyer Manuelito Luna asked the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) on Monday (December 21) to cancel Dutertes
certificate of candidacy (COC) and declare his substitution of Martin Dio
as null and void.
In his 9-page petition, David said Dutertes COC was not seasonably filed
because it was filed beyond the October 16 deadline.
David questioned the validity of Dutertes substitution of Dio for two
reasons: because he had earlier filed a COC for mayor and because the
withdrawal of Dios COC was in circumvention of Comelec rules.
David, who was earlier declared a nuisance candidate, also has a
pending case filed before the poll body against presidential aspirant Sen.
Grace Poe.
Poe is being accused of material representation in her 2013 certification
of candidacy and David wants her held criminally liable for this.
Asked about going after two presidential candidateshe said hes simply
correcting the errors by these personalities.

Mali yung kanilang ginawa, dapat natin ituwid, David said. Wala akong
nakita so far doon sa finile noong ibang kandidato. Dito malinaw yung
violation ni Grace constitutional yan. Ito namang kay Duterte,
violation naman ng procedures.
He laments that Duterte and Poe have been able to get away with
mocking elections process because of their names, while ordinary
citizens like him are barred from running because of issues like not
having funds to run a campaign.
Bakit yung mga katulad ni Duterte ay binibigyan ng Comelec ng
priority? Dahil ba Duterte ang kanyang pangalan at kami namay maliliit
lang na kandidato? David asked.
David did admit, though, that he was not fond at all of earlier
pronouncements of Duterteparticularly when the mayor cursed the
pope and his statement saying that he will take down the Church.
David said he took all these personally.
The petition filed by David is the second disqualification case against the
Davao City mayor.
The first was filed by radio broadcaster Ruben Castor who insisted that
Duterte cannot substitute for Dio, a fellow PDP-Laban member who has
an erroneous COC.
I did this because the other guys who filed disqualification cases against
him are parang playing around, David claimed.
December 22, 2015
MANILA, Philippines A third petition seeking to cancel the certificate of
candidacy of presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was
lodged on Tuesday, December 22.
Petitioner JP Delas Nieves, University Student Council Chairperson of the
University of the Philippines Diliman, filed the petition before the
Commission on Elections.
Bilang isang estudyanteng UP, naniniwala po ako na nararapat lang na
isabuhay ang napag-aralan namin na respeto para sa karapatang
pantao. (As a UP student, I believe that it is only right to live out the
respect for human rights that we were taught.) Inculcated within every
UP student is the belief in the dignity of every person and the respect for
human rights. The filing of this petition is my own contribution to that
belief, Delas Nieves said in a statement.
Delas Nieves was earlier expelled from his student party UP Alyansa,
after he refused to quit from the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity, which was
allegedly involved in a violent incident in June this year.
The two other petitions were filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor and
Rizalito David, the same petitioner against presidential bet Senator
Grace Poe.
Grounds for disqualification
Delas Nieves said Duterte should not be allowed to run for president for
the following reasons:

Dutertes substitution is not valid, as Martin Dio, the person he

substituted for, is not a bonafide candidate." Dio withdrew his
candidacy on October 29, nearly a month before Duterte filed his
COC.

Duterte filed a substitute COC for the position of President, which

is different from the position stated in Dios COC. Rappler
reported in October that Dio erroneously declared he was
running for mayor of Pasay City.

Duterte allegedly committed a deliberate misrepresentation in his

COC when he swore under oath that he will support and defend
the Constitution. The petitioner said this is contrary to the
mayors actions, as he has openly admitted to killing people.
Aside from the cancellation of Dutertes COC, Delas Nieves' lawyer Maria
Sheila Bazar said the petition seeks to delete the mayors name from the
Certified List of Candidates for President and from the 2016 ballot.
The poll body earlier accepted Duterte's COC. Comelec Chairman Andres
Bautista, however, said this is "entirely without prejudice to the pending
disqualification case" against Dio and "any other case that may be filed"
against Duterte. rappler.com

Comelec shouldnt accept Duterte COC, poll exec says

Duterte to Comelec: Junk COC petition

MANILA, Philippines Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner

Rowena Guanzon said the poll body for now should not accept the
certificate of candidacy (COC) of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Guanzon was the only person in the 7-member Comelec who dissented
from the poll bodys resolution on Thursday, December 17.
The Comelec on Thursday decided to acknowledge and accept
Dutertes COC despite a pending case that could affect his candidacy.
In a note on the Comelec resolution, Guanzon explained, There is a
pending case, Castor v Duterte, wherein the petitioner alleges that
Dutertes COC is void because it contains untruthful acts or
misrepresentation.
Guanzon was referring to the petition filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor
requesting the Comelec to declare the COC of Martin Dio as null and
void.
Castor cited an error in Dios COC.
Rappler reported in October that Dio, in his COC, erroneously declared
that he is running for the position of mayor of Pasay City.
Castor said Duterte, therefore, should not substitute for Martin Dio
whose COC is void, legally inexistent, and without legal effect; hence,
substitution shall likewise be void.
Referring to Duterte, Guanzon added in her marginal note, There is also
the issue regarding his notarized documents, the truth or falsity of which
must be determined before his COC is accepted.
Duterte 'now in list of candidates'
Critics associate Guanzon, a womens rights advocate, with
administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II. She's formerly a mayor
of Cadiz City and an ex-commissioner of the Commission on Audit.
The opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) earlier said the ruling
Liberal Party might use Guanzon to ensure the victory of Roxas.
Guanzon has denied UNAs accusation. She has also been confirmed by
the Commission on Appointments without opposition senators blocking
her confirmation.
Unlike Guanzon, the 6 other members of the Comelec on Thursday voted
to accept Dutertes COC.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, however, explained that this is
"entirely without prejudice to the pending disqualification case" against
Dio, whom Duterte is substituting for.
He said the decision is also without prejudice to "any other case that
may be filed" against Duterte.
The Comelec chairman explained: "What this means is that he is now in
our list of candidates, so that was an administrative decision that the
Comelec en banc made. But again, I want to emphasize that this is
without prejudice to disqualification cases that have been filed or may be
filed against him." rappler.com

By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29,

2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte yesterday
asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to junk the petition
seeking the cancellation of his certificate of candidacy (COC) for
president.
In a 25-page memorandum submitted to the Comelec First Division,
Duterte said the petition of broadcaster Ruben Castor should be
dismissed for lack of merit.
Duterte noted that the poll body has accepted his substitution for Martin
Dio as standard bearer of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)Laban so the issue has become moot.
The Comelec en banc, in its Resolution No. 10028 promulgated on Dec.
17, had accepted the COC of respondent Duterte The resolution merely
confirms the previous acts of the Comelec, all of which recognized the
validity of the COC of respondent Dio, the memorandum read.
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The memorandum further stated that such acceptance deals a death
blow to the petition in this case as well as other petitions seeking to
disqualify respondent Duterte, predicated on the ground that the COC of
respondent Dio is null and void due to the alleged errors in the
document.
By accepting the COC of respondent Duterte, the Comelec en banc did
recognize that a valid substitution of candidacy for the position of
president had taken place by operation of law between respondent Dio
as the withdrawing candidate and respondent Duterte as the substitute
candidate, it added.
Duterte also argued that Castor had waived his presence during the
preliminary conference held on Dec. 15.
At the hearing on Dec. 18, Castor appeared but did not mark any
documentary evidence to support his petition.
Hence, there is no documentary evidence submitted by petitioner to
which respondent Duterte can comment or object, the memorandum
read.
In his petition, Castor charged that the substitution is not valid because
Dio was not running for president but for mayor of Pasay City as
indicated in his COC.