Comelec mulls assigning COC filing dates per elective posts

Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines —The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is studying the possibility of designating specific dates for various positions during the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC).

In a press briefing on Friday, Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations (DEDO) Bart Sinocruz said the move aims to avoid overcrowding and lessen the risks of COVID-19 transmission during the filing of COCs.

“We are studying whether there will be separate days for single-winner elected positions and separate days for multiple elected positions,” Sinocruz said.

Sinocruz explained that single-elected positions are posts that only have one winner such as mayors, vice mayors, governors, and vice governors. Meanwhile, multiple elected posts include city and municipal councilors, among others.

“So, like (for) mayor and vice mayor, they are both single elected positions, baka mga dalawa o tatlong araw ang para sa kanila. And the rest of the filing dates will be for the candidates for the sangguniang panlungsod o sangguniang bayan,” Sinocruz said.

The filing of COCs for the 2022 national and local elections scheduled will begin on October 1 and end on October 8, 2021, including weekends.

The campaign period in national positions (president, vice president, senator, and party-list groups) will be from Feb. 8, 2022, to May 7, 2022. Meanwhile, the campaign period for local positions (House of Representatives member, regional, provincial, city and municipal officers) will begin on March 25, 2022 until May 7, 2022.

EDV