The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said there is no need to hold a special election to fill the vacant position of Quirino governor following the death of Governor Dakila Carlo “Dax” Cua.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the vacancy will be handled under the succession provisions of the Local Government Code. Cua died on September 15 at the age of 48 after battling lung cancer.
Under the succession process cited by Garcia, Vice Governor Julius Caesar Vaquilar will assume the governorship and serve as the province’s new chief executive. The top-ranking member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan will then take over the vacant vice gubernatorial position.
The resulting vacancy in the provincial board will be addressed through an appointment by the President, according to Garcia. This means the province can continue its local government operations without conducting a separate special election for governor.
The development comes as Comelec is preparing for other special elections triggered by vacancies in elected positions. In Batanes, for example, the poll body is preparing to conduct a special election to fill the congressional seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Ciriaco Gato Jr. Gato died on September 21 from cardiac arrest.
Comelec is tentatively looking at December 19 for the Batanes special polls. Garcia said the agency is also considering using supplies originally intended for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections to reduce the cost of the special election, given the poll body’s limited budget.
The different approaches in Quirino and Batanes highlight how Philippine election law treats vacancies differently depending on the position involved and the applicable succession rules.
For Quirino, the immediate transition will therefore take place through the legally prescribed succession process rather than through a special gubernatorial election.
