MANILA—The substitution option for political aspirants is "ripe for regulation" amid several substitutions in the 2022 elections, Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez said Tuesday.

Jimenez said the procedure was supposed to be a "remedy" for political parties in case their candidates quit the electoral race.

However, some candidates were able to file substitutions "willy-nilly," he said, since there is no limit to the rule.

Candidates are also not prohibited from withdrawing from one position and substituting for one another or from changing parties midway despite filing and withdrawing their certificates of candidacy from different party.

"It seems like this procedure is actually ripe for some regulation of some sort," he told ANC's "Rundown".

"Because right now, the law simply provides that this is something you can do without necessarily saying what the conditions are for you to do it. That may be what's lacking. That may be the reason why people are able to file substitutions willy-nilly."

"Having a final substitution all the way to the very last minute, that's why this is possible because there are no regulations," he added.

All these movements, Jimenez said, used to happen before the filing of COCs.

"It would seem that the negotiations that used to happen in the backrooms are now front and center and this is causing a lot of discomfort for a lot of people," he said.

The period of filing of COCs ended on Oct. 8 and political parties had until Nov. 15 to field their substitutes in case any of their candidates decide to withdraw.

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After a flurry of announcements that surprised national elections, Jimenez said there would be no substitutions for voluntary withdrawals after Nov. 15.

"Just to be clear, withdrawal, voluntary withdrawal or otherwise is still allowed. Candidate can withdraw anytime," he said.

"However, after Nov. 15, there can no longer be any substitutions for cases of voluntary withdrawal, which means you can only get a substitute if your withdrawal is involuntary, which means you either die or you are disqualified."

Substitutions will then be allowed, Jimenez said, if a candidate is a party mate of the person he or she is substituting or if they have the same surname.