Philippine legal overview, with distinctions for national, local, and barangay posts; and for deaths occurring before proclamation, after proclamation but before assumption, and during the term.

I. Why timing matters

What happens depends almost entirely on when the death occurs relative to the electoral calendar:

Before election day (campaign period) – The issue is candidate substitution, not succession.
After election day but before proclamation – The issue is whether the proclamation can validly be made and, if the winner cannot assume office, what vacancy and succession rules apply.
After proclamation but before assumption of office – The office is treated as having a permanent vacancy at the start of the term, so succession (not the “second placer”) applies.
During the term – Ordinary constitutional/statutory vacancy-succession rules apply.

Two foundational principles run through the doctrine:

Votes for the deceased winner are not transferred to the runner-up. Philippine jurisprudence has long rejected the “second placer” rule; the electorate is presumed to have rejected the runner-up.
Succession statutes trump electoral arithmetic once a permanent vacancy exists.

II. Preliminary: Substitution vs. Succession

A. Substitution (before election day)

Under the Omnibus Election Code and subsequent election statutes, a political party may substitute a deceased or disqualified official candidate before election day (specific cut-off rules apply, and independent candidates cannot be substituted). This is an electoral filing question; it does not determine who holds office after the canvass.

B. Succession (after votes are cast)

Once voting has occurred, deaths of winning candidates trigger vacancy-and-succession rules under the Constitution, the Local Government Code (LGC), and relevant laws for Congress and barangays—not a reallocation of votes to the runner-up.

III. National Executive: President and Vice-President

A. Death before proclamation (after voting)

The Constitution elects the President and Vice-President separately. If the presidential candidate with the most votes dies before Congress completes the canvass and proclamation:

Congress still canvasses the returns for President and Vice-President separately.
If the deceased candidate would have been proclaimed but for death, no “second placer” is proclaimed. Instead, the scenario yields a vacancy as of the start of the term, to be resolved by constitutional succession.

B. Death after proclamation but before assumption of office

Article VII, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution governs:

If the President-elect dies before noon of June 30 (the start of the term), the Vice-President-elect becomes President.
If the Vice-President-elect dies before assumption, the office of VP becomes vacant at the start of the term and is later filled under Section 9 (nomination by the President and confirmation by a majority of both Houses, voting separately).

C. Death during the term

President dies → Vice-President becomes President (Art. VII, Sec. 8).
Vice-President dies → Vacancy in VP is filled by presidential nomination, with confirmation by majority of both Houses (Art. VII, Sec. 9).

No runner-up ascends to the presidency or vice-presidency. Succession is constitutional, not electoral.

IV. Congress: Senators and District/Party-List Representatives

A. Senators

Vacancy (by death at any point): The Constitution (Art. VI) authorizes filling vacancies by special election “as may be provided by law.” Existing statutes (e.g., RA 6645, as amended by RA 7166) govern timing and mechanics. In practice, the Senate seat is filled by special election or, if so provided, at the next regular election, for the unexpired term.

B. House of Representatives

District Representative: Death creates a vacancy filled by special election called by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) pursuant to the Constitution and statute. The winner serves the unexpired portion of the term.
Party-List Representative: If the party-list nominee who has taken a seat dies, the next qualified nominee on the party’s list assumes office according to the Party-List System Act and COMELEC rules. If the deceased was a proclaimed but unseated nominee, COMELEC issues a new Certificate of Proclamation to the next nominee.

Again, no “second placer” in a legislative district is seated simply because the winner died.

V. Local Governments (Provinces, Cities, Municipalities)

The Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC) provides detailed rules on permanent vacancies (e.g., death, permanent incapacity).

A. Governor / Vice-Governor; City/Municipal Mayor / Vice-Mayor

When a permanent vacancy occurs:

Vice-Governor succeeds as Governor; Vice-Mayor succeeds as Mayor.
The “highest ranking” sanggunian member (based on election results) becomes the new Vice-Governor or Vice-Mayor.
The resultant vacancy in the sanggunian is filled by appointment from the same political party as the vacating member; if non-partisan/independent, by rules in the LGC and implementing regulations on nominations and appointments via the appropriate appointing authority.

These rules apply whether the death occurs after proclamation but before assumption (so the office is vacant at the start of the term) or during the term.

B. Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Panlungsod, and Bayan

If a sanggunian member dies, the vacancy is filled by appointment (keeping party representation proportionality where applicable), following LGC procedures and DILG/COMELEC guidance.

C. The “second placer” does not assume

If a winning Governor or Mayor dies before proclamation or before assumption, the runner-up is not proclaimed. Philippine Supreme Court cases have consistently held that votes for the deceased or disqualified front-runner do not vest the office in the second placer; rather, succession or special election/appointment mechanisms apply. The electorate is presumed to have rejected the second placer.

VI. Barangays and the SK

Punong Barangay: Upon death, the highest-ranking kagawad (determined by votes obtained; ties broken by lot) becomes Punong Barangay.
Sangguniang Kabataan (SK): Parallel rules apply: the highest-ranking SK kagawad succeeds the SK Chair, with subsequent filling of board vacancies under the SK and barangay statutes/regulations.

VII. Death before proclamation vs posthumous proclamation

Before proclamation: If the leading candidate dies, COMELEC does not proclaim the runner-up. It assesses whether a proclamation of the deceased is still legally meaningful (e.g., for establishing the existence of a vacancy) and then applies succession or special election rules, depending on the office.
Posthumous proclamation: In some situations, proclamation of a deceased winner may be made to settle the fact of election and thereby determine the proper successor (e.g., to trigger vice-official succession or to anchor appointments). This is a succession device, not a way to seat a substitute winner.

VIII. Why the runner-up cannot be seated (“Second Placer” Doctrine)

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the second placer cannot be proclaimed simply because the apparent winner died or was later found ineligible (as distinguished from cases where votes are treated as stray by law and therefore not counted). The doctrine rests on two ideas:

Majority will: The electorate voted against the runner-up.
Public policy: Offices are filled by succession or special elections, not by awarding them to a candidate who did not receive the highest number of valid votes.

In disqualification or nuisance-candidate scenarios, the effect depends on when the disqualification attached and whether the votes are credited, discounted, or stray by operation of law—still, none of this converts the runner-up into the automatic winner where the vote for the winning candidate was validly cast.

IX. Special notes and edge cases

Separate canvasses: President and Vice-President are elected and canvassed separately; death of one does not elevate the other.
Party-list: The party’s list, not electoral runners-up, controls succession to a vacated party-list seat.
Autonomous regions (e.g., BARMM): Where an organic law provides specific succession sequences for regional positions, those provisions govern, complemented by COMELEC implementation.
Election protests/quo warranto: If a protest is pending when the winner dies, the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the proper party to continue are governed by the election‐contest rules; the result may affect who is deemed elected ab initio, but day-to-day authority follows succession in the meantime.
Temporary vacancies: Illness or suspension triggers acting arrangements that differ from permanent vacancies created by death.

X. Practical flow by office

A. President

Winner dies before proclamation → Congress completes canvass; no runner-up; treat as vacancy at term start → VP-elect becomes President at noon of June 30.
President-elect dies after proclamation, before noon June 30 → VP-elect becomes President.
President dies during term → VP becomes President; VP vacancy filled under Art. VII, Sec. 9.

B. Vice-President

Same timing logic; replacement during term by nomination + confirmation.

C. Senator

Death at any time → vacancy → special election/next election under statute; winner serves unexpired term.

D. District Representative

Death at any time → vacancy → COMELEC calls special election; winner serves unexpired term.

E. Party-List Representative

Death at any time → next qualified nominee on the party list assumes.

F. Governor/Mayor

Death before assumption or during term → Vice-Governor/Vice-Mayor assumes; highest-ranking sanggunian member becomes Vice; sanggunian vacancy filled by appointment consistent with party representation.

G. Barangay/ SK

Death → highest-ranking kagawad (or SK member) assumes; remaining vacancies filled per barangay/SK rules.

XI. Key legal anchors (non-exhaustive)

1987 Constitution – Art. VII (Executive): Secs. 7–9 (assumption; vacancies; VP nomination/confirmation) – Art. VI (Legislative): vacancy filling by special elections “as may be provided by law”
Local Government Code of 1991 (permanent vacancies; succession; appointments; party representation and highest-ranking rules)
Omnibus Election Code and subsequent election laws (substitution, special elections, canvass/proclamation mechanics)
Jurisprudence on the “second placer” doctrine (rejecting proclamation of the runner-up after the front-runner’s death/ineligibility where votes for the winner were validly cast)

XII. Takeaways

Timing controls: identify whether the death was before proclamation, after proclamation but before assumption, or during the term.
Succession, not second place: Philippine law favors institutional succession and special elections over seating the runner-up.
Different posts, different paths: National executive, Congress, LGUs, and barangays each have distinct rules and authorities (Constitution, LGC, party-list rules).
Expect COMELEC and the courts to apply these rules case-by-case to preserve electoral will and continuity of governance.

This article is intended as a comprehensive doctrinal guide. For live controversies, always map the facts to the precise constitutional or statutory provision governing that specific office and timing, then layer in the controlling jurisprudence.