ILOILO – A mayoralty candidate in Tigbauan town passed away yesterday – former vice mayor Roel “Doc Biboy” Tañeza Jarina.
It was unclear as of this writing, however, what the cause of death was. The Jarina family had not issued an official statement.
Mayor Suzette Alquisada confirmed the death on social media.
Jarina served as Sangguniang Bayan member of Tigbauan from 2004 to 2007 and served as vice mayor from 2007 to 2016.
Jarina was the candidate for mayor of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) for the May 2022 elections. With him gone, what should his party do?
According to Atty. Wilfred Jay Balisado, director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Region 6, Jarina could be substituted by anyone from his political party.
Balisado explained that death is one of the grounds on which the party can replace their official candidate in a certain position.
If a candidate has no political party, a family member with the same surname can replace him/her.
Balisado said it would be better if Lakas-CMD could submit the name of Jarina’s substitute before Nov. 15 (last day of substitution).
Comelec will finalize the list of official candidates in December 2021.
The substitute candidate must submit a certificate of candidacy and certificate of nomination and acceptance./PN
