The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said it plans to require party-list groups participating in the 2025 national and local elections to submit at least 10 nominees, increasing the current limit of five nominees.
Comelec Chairperson George Garcia in a press briefing said that once 10 names are submitted, the poll body will no longer accept any substitution.
“It is highly unlikely that all 10 will die, that all 10 will get sick, and all 10 will have excuses. We will require 10 so that there will be somebody sure to be left on the list and that fielding 10 new nominees will be unnecessary,” Garcia said.
The poll chief said party-lists should be able to comply with this new rule due to their large memberships.
He said with 10 nominees, this will ensure fairness and prevent controversies, which have arisen in past elections over the substitution of party-list nominees.
Some party lists opt to field an entirely new set of nominees in the middle of the campaign period or before Election Day after the withdrawal of their initial set of nominees.
The Comelec en banc has since approved the proposal to reduce the period of filing substitution of candidates due to withdrawals. The filing period for certificates of candidacy will commence on October 1.