Bets have until Oct. 8 to file COCs
Political hopefuls vying for 18,272 national and local posts up for grabs in the May 12 elections next year have today, Oct. 1, up to Oct. 8, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to file their respective certificates of candidacy (COCs) before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
According to the Comelec, the 18,272 political posts were around 200 more compared with the 2022 polls, with 75 of these intended for the first-ever Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections.
For national posts, there are 12 seats for senators, 254 for members of the House of Representatives, in addition to 63 for party list seats.
For local positions, there are 82 gubernatorial and 82 vice gubernatorial seats, plus 800 provincial council seats at stake. Candidates will also be vying for 149 city mayoral and 149 city vice mayoral seats, 1,682 city council seats; 1,493 municipal mayoral and 1,493 municipal vice mayoral posts, and 11,948 municipal council seats.
Ministerial duty
For the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, 40 seats are for regional political parties, in addition to 25 for parliamentary districts.
Comelec Chair George Garcia reminded those filing their COCs to ensure they pick the correct forms and to have these notarized before submission.
“We will accept all COCs filed with us, because the Comelec has ministerial duty. We have no choice but to accept them as long as these are in proper form and duly accomplished,” Garcia told reporters on Monday.
“But if it’s about whether the candidate’s name will be included on the ballot, that’s another issue … as a registered voter may file a petition to cancel or deny due course of a COC. They (applicants) may also be deemed by the Comelec a nuisance candidate, or they [may be] among those perpetually disqualified to hold public office,” he added.
If the candidate vying for a position is endorsed by a political party, a certificate of nomination and acceptance should be attached to the COC, otherwise they shall be declared independents. No substitutes are allowed for independent candidates.
‘Ipso facto’ resigned
Garcia maintained that all persons holding a public appointive office or government positions shall be deemed “ipso facto” resigned from their posts when they file their COCs.
But this will not be the case for those holding elective posts, he added.
For those running for party list seats, they would only be deemed resigned from their appointive government posts at the start of the campaign period, which is on Feb. 11, 2025.
For the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Parliament polls, incumbent appointed members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority are not deemed ipso facto resigned upon the filing of their COCs. The filing of COCs for this particular election was moved to Nov. 4 to Nov. 9.
Substitution of candidates are only allowed until the last day of filing of COCs, or on Oct. 8. But substitution of candidates due to death or disqualification by final judgment can be done up to mid-day of election day on May 12, 2025.
Due to inclement weather brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon “Julian” on Monday in northern Luzon, local Comelec offices may schedule another day for the registration of voters, which ended on Sept. 30 and filing of COCs.
“This is the right move because we should prioritize the life and safety of the public and the personnel of the Comelec,” Garcia said.
“Locals in the areas currently affected by the typhoon, please stay indoors. Those who will file for their candidacy, wait for the announcement of our local Comelec. Don’t worry. We are willing to allow an extra day to make up for the day the filing was supposedly scheduled,” he added.
As of Sept. 26, the country’s estimated registered voters were at 67,757,800—3 percent up from 65,745,526 in the 2022 elections. INQ
