The Supreme Court (SC) has struck down the controversial “second placer rule,” long used by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in proclaiming election runners-up as winners when the top vote-getter is disqualified or found ineligible.
In a decision promulgated on April 22, 2025, the SC en banc ruled that the doctrine, established in the 2012 case Jalosjos Jr. vs. Comelec, “has no legal basis” and instead affirmed that succession under Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code (LGC), must be followed.
“In fine, the Court hereby abandons the second placer rule and declares that the rules on succession under the LGC shall apply in all cases where a permanent vacancy results from a local elective official’s disqualification from office regardless of the proceedings involved,” the decision read.
The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan.
The case stemmed from a petition for certiorari filed by Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu, who challenged the Comelec’s decision to cancel his certificate of candidacy (COC) in the 2022 gubernatorial race in Sultan Kudarat. Although Mangudadatu won the election, his candidacy was later voided after the poll body ruled he had committed material misrepresentation in his COC.
At the time of filing his COC on October 7, 2021, Pax Ali was still serving as mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki (DAS) in Maguindanao. He claimed to have re-established his residence in Barangay Tamnag, Lutayan, as early as October 2020 and said he resigned as mayor on November 15, 2021.
However, the Comelec found that his residency claim lacked credibility. The Supreme Court agreed, saying: “To the Court’s mind, Pax Ali’s resignation as mayor was a mere afterthought.”
While the case focused on the cancellation of his COC, the SC used the opportunity to revisit and reject the second placer doctrine.
The High Court emphasized that as early as 1929, in Nuval vs. Guray, the second placer rule had been dismissed for lacking statutory support and for contradicting public policy.
Still, the rule gained ground in the 2012 case Jalosjos Jr., where the SC ruled that second placer Agapito Cardino should be proclaimed mayor of Dapitan City after first placer Dominador Jalosjos Jr.’s COC was voided. The new ruling reverses that precedent.
“The language of the law is clear, explicit, and unequivocal,” the SC said, reaffirming that in cases of disqualification, the LGC provides that the duly elected vice official should succeed.
The SC therefore declared that Raden Sakaluran, who was elected vice governor of Sultan Kudarat in the 2022 elections, “shall serve the remaining duration of the July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025 term.”
The ruling was not unanimous. Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Mario Lopez, Ricardo Rosario, and Jhosep Lopez registered dissenting opinions.
