MANILA, Philippines — Controversial retired military officer Antonio Parlade Jr. says he is joining the presidential race.
Parlade on Monday, the last day for substitution of candidates, personally filed his Certificate of Candidacy as president, formalizing his substitution of Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino's Antonio Valdes who withdrew his bid last Saturday.
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According to the Commission on Elections' tentative list of candidates, Valdes is running as an independent candidate despite being a member of KDP. Under Comelec rules, which spokesperson James Jimenez reiterated last week, substitution is not allowed for independent candidates who withdraw.
This latest substitution follows a wave of changes in candidacies over the weekend that saw Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio filing to be a vice-presidential candidate and Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go withdrawing from the VP race to run for president.
The administration party's presidential candidate Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa withdrew his bid Saturday after initially defending his last-minute decision to run, challenging reporters who asked him about it in October: "Do I look like a mockery to you?"
The retired lieutenant general previously served as the spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. He is notorious for, and has faced complaints over, his red-tagging of progressive groups and even journalists.
Parlade retired in July and quit his post as task force spokesperson. Two months later, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as deputy director general of the National Security Council, an advisory body under the Office of the President. — Kristine Joy Patag