Skip to content

What happens if winner in May elections is disqualified?

Of the eight presidential candidates that the Commission on Elections approved to be listed in the ballots for the May 9, 2016 elections, two are facing disqualification cases: Grace Poe and Rodrigo Duterte.

Grace Poe and Escudero oblige a selfie with student in Cebu.
Grace Poe and Escudero oblige a selfie with student in Cebu.

The eight names that Comelec said would be in the ballots are: Jojo Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA); Miriam Defensor Santiago of the People’s Reform Party (PRP); Rody Duterte of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban); Mel Mendoza of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP); Grace Poe, independent;Mar Roxas of Daang Matuwid Liberal Party (LP); Roy Señeres of Partido ng Mangagawa at Magsasaka Workers (WPPPMM); and Dante Valencia,independent.

Printing of the ballots will start on Feb. 1 although Senate President Franklin Drilon, an LP stalwart, is asking the poll body to delay it and wait for the resolution of the disqualification cases being heard by the Supreme Court.

Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Duterte
The disqualification cases against Poe allege that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen because, being a foundling, her parents are unknown and that she lacks the required Philippine residency of 10 years before the May 9 elections.

Duterte’s disqualification case centers on the validity of his substitution,Martin Diño, who withdrew his confused candidacy (he wanted to file a certificate of candidacy for president but the form that he used was for mayor of Pasay City) before the Comelec declared him a nuisance candidate.

Comelec is reported to be cool to Drilon’s request to wait for the SC decision before printing the ballots.
Now, what happens if the winner in the May 9 polls is the one facing disqualification cases and the High Court decided that he or she is not qualified?

Take the case of Poe. What happens if Poe wins and the Supreme Court decides that she is not qualified to run for president?
Lawyer Harry Roque, who is aiming for a seat in the House of Representative through the partylist group, Kabayan, said the crucial factor is proclamation.

Bongbong Marcos in Pasay City Jan. 24, 2016
Bongbong Marcos in Pasay City Jan. 24, 2016
If the Supreme Court decided before Poe is proclaimed that she is not qualified to become president, the candidate with the second highest number of votes will be proclaimed president. If Poe is number one and Binay is number two, Binay becomes president. If Duterte is number two, then it’s Duterte who will be president. If it’s Roxas, then Roxas will realize his dream of becoming president.

Now, if Poe has already been proclaimed winner of the 2016 elections, the cases against her becomes the jurisdiction of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal composed of all the Supreme Court justices.

No problem if PET declared her qualified. She goes on with her presidency.

But if the PET declared her disqualified, the elected and proclaimed vice- president becomes president.

In the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations, Poe’s running mate, Chiz Escudero, is leading the vice-presidential race but Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., running mate of Santiago, is fast catching up.

A Marcos presidency in 2016 is not totally out of the picture.

This is a very interesting elections.

Published in2016 elections

17 Comments

  1. chi chi

    Interesting elections indeed!

    First scenarion with the SC… Binay becomes president
    Second scenario with he PET…Bongbong might be it.

    Pero si Noynoy, tulog na tulog pa rin….hindi nagigising!

  2. Becky Becky

    That’s why the justices should think very carefully in the disqualification cases filed against Grace Poe.

  3. saxnviolins saxnviolins

    I beg to differ with the opinion below cited.

    If the Supreme Court decided before Poe is proclaimed that she is not qualified to become president, the candidate with the second highest number of votes will be proclaimed president.

    The Constitution states otherwise, below:

    The person having the highest number of votes shall be proclaimed elected, but in case two or more shall have an equal and highest number of votes, one of them shall forthwith be chosen by the vote of a majority of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.

    Article IV, Section 4, paragraph 5.

    The Constitution talks about the person with the highest number of votes, being proclaimed elected. Nowhere does it state that if the person with the highest votes is disqualified, the runner-up will be proclaimed elected. He, in fact, was not elected, because he did not get the highest number of votes.

    There are two stages here – the proclamation of the winner, and the qualification. Section 7 of Article IV says:

    If the President-elect fails to qualify, the Vice President-elect shall act as President until the President-elect shall have qualified.

    So Llamanzares may be proclaimed but may not qualify.

    Uy. Presidente si Chiz. Escudero must be snickering behind Llamanzares’ back. After all, his firm prepared her citizenship papers.

    But like the article says, Chiz may not win. It could be Bongbong. Macoy must be snickering in his coffin.

    Since Llamanzares already won (assuming she does), and there would be no danger of a loss in her being associated with Da Apo, she may just agree to DNA tests with Bongbong, to qualify.

    Now Macoy’s dinaing na corpse will really be snickering. Anak ko ang Presidente. Akin pa ang vice.

  4. Ana Duran Ana Duran

    The die is cast and the tea leaves are all pinting to Bongbong Marcos presidency. After all, he is the most qualified and loved by the people.

  5. Joe America Joe America

    It’s Roxas’ fault, just like all the traffic in Manila, all those stupid BPO workers crawling all over the place, and he’s also the reason my mother-in-law has gout.

  6. MPRivera MPRivera

    #. roxas as toxic as uric acid?

    time to end the reign of people who had been in the government for decades yet, delivered only but promises. let these termites be where they are supposed and should be.

    let us elect a leader who is not a TRAPO. let us elect a leader who has a vision and works for the welfare of the ordinary filipino workers. a man of integrity and compassion.

    i am not campaigning here BUT my candidate does not support violence to curb criminality. the candidate i trust supports citizen empowerment and believes that equal distribution of development is the only solution to put a full stop on unemployment, poverty and hunger which are the root causes of unrest around the country. he is the least known among the presidentiables but already served the government and has proven the kind of service a true public servant discahrges.

  7. MPRivera MPRivera

    “………delivered NOTHING but promises.”

  8. chi chi

    #4. Now Macoy’s dinaing na corpse will really be snickering. Anak ko ang Presidente. Akin pa ang vice. -atty SnV

    Ang swerte ni Macoy kahit dinaing na…. 🙂

  9. #4, SnV, you are talking of a tie in the number one position among presidential candidates? That’s a different case, of course.

  10. MGTC emailed me this question:

    “In case the elected vice president assumes the presidency, who will be the vice president?”

  11. vic vic

    LINE OF SUCCESSION
    Should there be a vacancy of the Office of the Vice President, the President of the Philippines is required by the constitution to nominate a replacement with the concurrence of Committee on Appointments.

    ——————–
    in the case scenario given, the Vice President by line of Succession took over the Presidency..then the a President he is required by the Constitution to nominate a replacement to himself with the concurrence of the Committee on Appointments…

    but since there are so many lawyers that could spoil the broth..the case is open for argument…

  12. vic vic

    And by the time the case is settled by the SC, it will be past another election…or beyond…that’s the way it is folks…

  13. Ana Duran Ana Duran

    #6 Roxas cannot even IMPROVE his family businesses Araneta Coliseum and Farmer’s Market, so how would you expect Roxas which has 30 years of MEDIOCRE performance will do a good job this time?

  14. Joe America Joe America

    I’m with you, Ana. I mean, let’s get it ON! I think if Marcos were president he could appoint Binay as head of DMB, Duterte to run DILG and the State Police, and Santiago could head Foreign Affairs. Poe would run the war room and be the back door negotiator with China. Rock and Roll! No boring Roxas to hold the nation back.

  15. vic vic

    @ 15. There is a wise political mantra not to underestimate your political opponent. Going into our last election, we expected the young Leader Justin Trudeau as not ‘yet Ready’ and it was not a contest at all. Our Conservatives caucus was so confident that they concentrated our campaign against the New Democrats as against the high School drama teacher, who many made a “joke” that he got the good looks of her mom and her brains too. But what most have forgotten that with him stood a very charismatic partner in Sophie that could win an election herself and just as hot as the Liberal Leader and could win the election for him with just her wits, never mind about her talents.(many have said that she was the PM closest adviser). Maybe Corina could start the makeover.

    But Joe, I have lived my first 25 years in the Phl, and that was enough to know that it is place where a good man has a hard time making it and when it ever happened obstacles just too much to hurdle. Pnoy is one of them. My Bibs’ greatgrandpa was cut short by a plane crash. He was a good President.

  16. Now I feel relieved that I won’t be able to vote due to the lack of biometrics. I do not at all feel guilty with the present president as I left my ballot blank and avoided being the jinx to whoever I may have chosen. LOL. Now my bet is safe from my jinx.

Leave a Reply