1) Legal framework and where the rules come from

Philippine rules on a candidate’s death before election day are drawn from several layers of law:

1987 Constitution (notably for national offices and vacancy/succession principles, including the President and Vice President).
Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881), particularly the provisions on candidacy and substitution.
Election reform laws (e.g., synchronized election statutes and other amendments that shape deadlines and procedures).
COMELEC regulations and resolutions (which supply the operational details: filing venues, forms, documentary proof, and election-cycle schedules).
For certain offices and electoral systems, additional statutes matter:
- Local Government Code (RA 7160) for local succession rules once there is a vacancy in office.
- Party-List System Act (RA 7941) for party-list nominees.

A candidate’s death raises two core questions:

Can someone replace (substitute) the deceased candidate on the ballot/legal slate?
How are votes treated if the deceased candidate’s name remains on the ballot?

The short legal answer is: substitution is generally allowed only under specific conditions (mainly party candidacies), and the treatment of votes depends heavily on whether a valid substitution was made.

2) Key terms (used the way election law uses them)

Candidate

A person who has filed a Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) and is recognized as running for office, subject to qualifications and election rules.

Official candidate of a political party

For substitution purposes, the law centers on whether the candidate is an official nominee of a registered/accredited political party, not merely someone loosely “associated” with a party.

Substitution

A legal mechanism allowing another person to take the place of the original candidate who:

dies, withdraws, or is disqualified (wording varies by provision and implementing rules).

Withdrawal vs death vs disqualification

All three can trigger substitution rules in general, but death is the most time-sensitive and is commonly treated with the widest substitution window (because it can occur at any time).

Independent candidate

A candidate not nominated/fielded as an official party candidate for that office—important because substitution is generally not available to an independent candidate.

3) What death does to candidacy (basic principle)

Candidacy is personal. When a candidate dies, the person obviously cannot:

continue campaigning,
be proclaimed and assume office as a living public official, or
perform the obligations of office.

Election law addresses this reality through substitution rules (where allowed), and through vacancy/succession rules (if the death still results in an unfilled office at the start of term).

4) The substitution rule when a candidate dies before election day

4.1 When substitution is allowed

As a general rule under Philippine election law, if a candidate dies after the last day for filing CoCs, substitution may be allowed only if:

The deceased was an official candidate of a registered/accredited political party; and
The substitute is:
- a member of the same political party, and
- officially certified/endorsed by that same party under party authority; and
The substitute files a proper CoC as a substitute, with the required party certification and supporting documents.

Independent candidates: substitution is generally not allowed.

4.2 Deadline for substitution when the reason is death

A widely recognized statutory benchmark is that substitution due to death may be made up to midday (12:00 noon) of election day (as contrasted with tighter cutoffs often applied in practice to other grounds like voluntary withdrawal, depending on the election cycle rules).

Because this deadline is legally significant, it creates a practical dividing line:

Death + valid substitution filed on time → the candidacy continues through the substitute.
Death + no valid substitution filed on time → the deceased cannot be replaced, and vote/proclamation consequences follow.

4.3 Who may be substituted in practice

Substitution can apply across many elective positions—national and local—so long as the candidate is within a substitution-eligible category (generally party-nominated candidates). This includes:

President / Vice President
Senator
Member of the House of Representatives
Governor / Vice Governor
Mayor / Vice Mayor
Sanggunian members
Other elective posts covered by the election cycle

(Office-specific consequences after the election differ; substitution eligibility is primarily about party nomination status and timing.)

5) How substitution is done (procedural essentials)

While COMELEC sets the exact filing mechanics per election cycle, a legally sound substitution for death typically requires:

Proof of death
- Usually a death certificate or equivalent official record.
Party certification
- A document from the authorized party official(s) certifying:
  - the deceased was the party’s official candidate, and
  - the substitute is the party’s official replacement.
Substitute’s CoC
- Filed in the proper COMELEC office/venue for that position and locality.
- Must meet the same formal requirements of a CoC (identity, office sought, oath, etc.).
Qualification compliance
- The substitute must meet constitutional/statutory qualifications for the office (age, residency, citizenship, etc.).
- Substitution does not cure ineligibility.

Substitution is not automatic. A party’s public announcement is not enough; the legal act is the proper filing and acceptance of the substitute’s documents.

6) What happens to the ballot if the candidate dies close to election day?

A candidate’s death can occur after ballots have been finalized/printed (or after the ballot configuration is set in automated elections). As a result:

The deceased candidate’s name may remain on the ballot.
Voters may still shade/mark the deceased candidate’s name.

Election law deals with this by tying the effect of votes to whether a valid substitution exists.

7) How votes are treated if the deceased candidate’s name is on the ballot

7.1 If there is a valid substitution

When substitution is valid and timely:

Votes cast for the name of the deceased candidate (the name printed on the ballot) are generally credited to the substitute, because the substitute is legally stepping into the candidacy being voted for.

This is the practical core of substitution: it prevents a party’s candidacy from being wiped out by an unexpected death, even if ballot printing cannot be changed.

7.2 If there is no valid substitution

If no valid substitution is made, votes for the deceased candidate’s name do not produce a living, qualified winner who can be proclaimed and serve.

In practical election administration, votes for someone who is not a legally viable candidate on election day are commonly treated as ineffective for purposes of awarding the office (often discussed as “stray” in effect), and the contest proceeds among remaining qualified candidates.

However, edge cases can become legally contentious if:

the deceased candidate receives the highest number of votes, and
no substitution exists, and
the office cannot simply be treated as filled by the next highest vote-getter without violating election law principles.

The legally safest way to understand the system is:

Substitution is the legal bridge that allows votes for the deceased’s ballot name to elect a living substitute.
Without that bridge, the death can lead to vacancy and succession/special-election consequences depending on the office and timing.

8) If the candidate dies before election day but still “wins” in the tally

This happens most plausibly when:

death occurs very close to election day,
voters are unaware,
the ballot still shows the deceased candidate, and
no substitution (or an invalid substitution) was made.

The legal consequences depend on office type and whether the law provides a succession mechanism.

8.1 National executive (President and Vice President)

The Constitution provides specific rules for the scenario where a President-elect cannot assume office. While the Constitution is often discussed in the context of death after the election, it frames the broader principle: the country cannot be left without a functioning executive, so succession rules exist.

If the presidency or vice presidency becomes impossible to fill by the “elected” person, constitutional mechanisms come into play (e.g., Vice President-elect becoming President if the President-elect cannot qualify/assume).

8.2 Legislative offices (Senate, House)

Vacancies in Congress are governed by constitutional vacancy principles and the manner prescribed by law (often through special elections for House vacancies and vacancy-filling rules for Senate seats as provided by election law and COMELEC scheduling).

A death that prevents assumption can therefore lead to:

an unfilled seat, and
vacancy-filling through mechanisms recognized by law (frequently a special election for district seats, and vacancy rules applicable to the Senate depending on timing and statutory design).

8.3 Local offices (governor/mayor and their vice counterparts)

For local executive posts, the Local Government Code provides an established line of succession (e.g., vice governor to governor; vice mayor to mayor) when a permanent vacancy exists.

If the person who would have been elected cannot assume because of death, the position may be treated as having a vacancy at the start of term, triggering:

succession by the vice official, if there is one elected; or
other succession rules under the Code if multiple vacancies occur.

This is one reason substitution is often pursued aggressively: it determines whether the electorate’s vote is converted into a direct victory for a substitute candidate or whether the office shifts into a succession outcome.

9) Common limits and deal-breakers in substitution cases

9.1 Substitution generally requires a valid original candidacy

Philippine election jurisprudence commonly draws a sharp distinction between:

a candidate who is disqualified but had a valid CoC, versus
a CoC that is denied due course/cancelled (often treated as void ab initio for candidacy purposes).

Why this matters: substitution is understood as stepping into an existing candidacy. If the original candidacy is legally treated as nonexistent, there is “nothing” to substitute into.

In death cases, this issue can still arise if the deceased candidate’s CoC is later attacked as void (e.g., nuisance issues or cancellation proceedings). The viability of substitution can hinge on how the law treats the original CoC.

9.2 Party requirement is not a technicality

A substitute must usually:

come from the same political party, and
be certified by that party.

If the deceased was not the party’s official candidate (or the party certification is defective), substitution can fail.

9.3 Qualification requirements still apply

A substitute must independently satisfy:

constitutional qualifications (age, citizenship, residency),
statutory qualifications,
and any other eligibility requirements.

Substitution is not a shortcut around qualifications.

10) Special system: party-list elections

Party-list elections differ from candidate-centered elections because voters vote primarily for the party/organization, not for a particular nominee by name on the ballot.

When a party-list nominee dies before election day:

the party-list group typically has a mechanism to replace nominees in its submitted list, subject to COMELEC rules and deadlines.
the vote remains for the party-list organization, so the death of a nominee generally does not invalidate votes for the party.

The legal focus is on:

the party-list group’s compliance in updating nominees, and
the orderly assumption of seats by eligible nominees in the list.

11) Practical timelines (how the same death can have different legal outcomes)

Scenario A: Death occurs before the CoC filing deadline

A party can field another candidate through ordinary nomination processes.
The replacement files a CoC within the normal filing window.
This is not “substitution” in the high-stakes sense; it is simply running another candidate.

Scenario B: Death occurs after CoC filing deadline but far enough before ballot finalization

Substitution can be filed (if eligible), and COMELEC may still be able to reflect the substitute in some election materials depending on the election cycle.

Scenario C: Death occurs after ballot finalization/printing

The deceased candidate’s name may remain on the ballot.
Timely substitution becomes crucial so votes for the printed name can lawfully elect the substitute.

Scenario D: Death occurs very near election day; substitution not filed or filed late/invalid

Votes for the deceased candidate cannot reliably translate into a lawful proclamation of a living winner.
Outcomes may depend on:
- the effective treatment of votes cast,
- the winner among remaining qualified candidates, and/or
- vacancy/succession mechanisms for that office.

12) Core takeaways (doctrinally complete)

Death before election day does not automatically cancel the election for that office. The election proceeds; the legal problem is who may validly receive votes and be proclaimed.
Substitution is the main legal remedy, but it is typically limited to official party candidates and must be done properly and on time (commonly up to 12:00 noon on election day for death-based substitution).
If the ballot still bears the deceased candidate’s name, votes can still elect a substitute only if a valid substitution exists.
If no valid substitution exists, votes for the deceased candidate generally cannot produce a serving official, and the final result may shift to:
- the remaining qualified candidates’ vote totals, and/or
- vacancy and succession/special election rules depending on the office.
For party-list, the analysis is different because the vote is for the party-list group; nominee replacement is handled through nominee-list rules rather than candidate substitution in the same sense.