The Supreme Court En Banc has ruled with finality in favor of the legality of Vice Mayor Marie Grace R. David’s candidacy, permanently barring the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from executing its January 6, 2025 resolution that denied her Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
In a 14-page decision issued by the High Court on March 4, but received by Vice Mayor David only on Wednesday morning, the Court invalidated the COMELEC’s January 6, 2025 En Banc resolution, which had disqualified her substitution candidacy.
The case arose after then Vice Mayor Richie Jason David assumed the position of mayor of Limay, Bataan following the death of his father, incumbent and reelectionist Mayor Nelson David.
On December 6, 2024, Richie withdrew his COC for vice mayor and submitted a new COC and Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) as the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) substitute candidate for mayor.
The next day, the PFP nominated his wife, Marie Grace R. David, as the substitute candidate for vice mayor. She then filed her COC and CONA accordingly.
However, the COMELEC En Banc invalidated Marie Grace’s COC, prompting her to file a "Petition for Certiorari and Mandamus with prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction, temporary restraining order."
Marie Grace also filed a "Petition for Substitution and Inclusion in the Official List of Candidates/Ballots" before the COMELEC.
She argued in her petition that Section 59 of COMELEC Resolution No. 11045 is unconstitutional because it contradicts Section 77 of the Omnibus Election Code, which “uniformly permits substitution due to death, disqualification, or withdrawal of the original candidate until midday of election day”, while COMELEC Resolution No. 11045 “ordains that the filing of withdrawal-based substitution should only be until October 8, 2024, the last day of filing COCs.”
Court records showed that "COMELEC allegedly committed grave abuse of discretion when it refused to give due course to Marie Grace's substitution despite the existence of circumstances that warranted flexibility, i.e., the substitution was made prior to the printing of ballots, and both withdrawing and substitute candidates share the same surname."
Marie Grace further "cites at least two prior cases wherein COMELEC allowed substitution due to withdrawal, albeit beyond the deadline, indicating therefore that the enforcement of the cutoff date is neither absolute nor uniformly applied."
She claimed that "(a) she possesses a clear legal right to participate in the 2025 NLE as she filed her substitution well within the period provided under Section 77 of the Omnibus Election Code; (b) COMELEC has a legal duty to give due course to valid substitutions; (c) COMELEC has neglected or refused to give due course to her substitution."
The Supreme Court granted the petition, stating:
“Section 59 of the Commission on Elections Resolution No. 11045 is declared INVALID for violating Section 77 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.”
It further ruled:
“The Commission on Elections PERMANENTLY PROHIBITED from executing and/or implementing its Resolution dated January 6, 2025 and related issuances.”
The Supreme Court's decision affirms that Marie Grace R. David met the requirements for a valid substitution and that the COMELEC's rejection of her COC was a grave abuse of discretion.
The ruling not only secures her place as Vice Mayor of Limay, but also sets a precedent on the limits of COMELEC’s discretion when it comes to candidate substitution—particularly where provisions of the Omnibus Election Code are concerned.