The Supreme Court’s abandonment of the “second placer rule” does not apply to national elective positions such as president and vice president, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said Friday.

Garcia said the High Court’s latest ruling applies primarily to local elective officials because succession rules are in place for these positions.

“Ang sabi po ng Korte Suprema ito ay mas applicable sa local officials dahil sa local officials meron kasing rule on succession,” Garcia said.

(The Supreme Court said this is more applicable to local officials because there are rules on succession for local positions.)

For the presidency and vice presidency, Garcia said the succession mechanisms provided under the Constitution must instead be followed.

“So ibig sabihin, kapagka president at bise presidente, kung ano ang nakalagay doon sa Saligang Batas na paraan na kung sino ang hahalinhin kung sakasakali ay dapat po sundin,” he said.

(So this means that for the president and vice president, the succession process provided under the Constitution must be followed.)

The “second placer rule” stemmed from a 2012 Supreme Court decision allowing the runner-up in an election to be proclaimed winner when the candidate who received the highest number of votes was disqualified or declared ineligible.

Garcia said the Supreme Court, in its 26 August ruling, affirmed with finality Comelec’s cancellation of the certificate of candidacy of Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu in the 2022 Sultan Kudarat gubernatorial race over his failure to meet the residency requirement despite receiving the most votes.

The Court also ruled that the second placer in the gubernatorial election could not be proclaimed winner in Mangudadatu’s place.

Garcia acknowledged that Manila Sixth District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. benefited from the second placer rule after his rival was disqualified last year.

He said any challenge to Abante’s position would now fall under the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, as Comelec’s jurisdiction over winning congressional candidates ends once they have taken their oath of office.