THE daughter of the late Santander Vice Mayor Marilyn “Bebe” Wenceslao was able to substitute her just before the May 9, 2022 elections in the town.Lawyer Honorito Flores, Santander town’s election supervisor, and Wenceslao’s son, town councilor-elect Wilson Wenceslao, confirmed to SunStar Cebu the late vice mayor’s daughter, Julie, was able to substitute her just before the elections last Monday.Despite her sudden substitution, Julie was able to secure victory.Julie, who is allied with One Cebu, got 6,854 votes, defeating challengers Jeffrey Miparanum who only got 3,298 votes and Mayang Puntual who only got 753 votes.Wenceslao passed away on March 20, 2022, at the age of 77.She had served as vice mayor from 2001 to 2010 and mayor from 2010 to 2019.Section 40 of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution 10717 states: “The substitute for an aspirant or candidate who died or was disqualified by final judgement, may file a Certificate of Candidacy up to mid-day of election day; Provided that, the substitute and the substituted candidate have the same surnames.” Since the printing of official ballots has already commenced, having the same last name despite having no blood relations is essential since the name of the candidate will not be removed, Comelec Cebu Provincial Elections supervisor Jerome Brillantes told SunStar Cebu.He stressed that being in the same party or coalition is not necessary to substitute a candidate who died or got disqualified by the Comelec.LandslideAside from Julie, her running mate, reelectionist Mayor Marites “Monic” Buscato, also got an overwhelming majority, securing 6,867 votes. Buscato defeated challengers Mary Ann Aseñas who only got 3,931 votes and Raj Dy who only got 398 votes.Santander’s One Cebu group, which is led by Buscato, also secured all eight available seats in the municipal council.