Comelec posting of COCs, CONAs online will likely be OK’d – exec

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Erwin Garcia’s recommendation to publicize Certificates of Candidacies (COCs) and Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) online may possibly be approved by the en banc.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said he believes so as the suggestion would only mean more transparency in elections.

Garcia earlier said the publication of COCs and CONAs was not mandated by the poll body before but doing it now will strengthen honest elections as it could give the public easy access to COCs and CONAs and “ensure that candidates will be held accountable [for] the pieces of information” they provided and testified in these certificates.

“Kaya nga po iminungkahi na po ni Chairman Garcia at asahan po natin na baka lumabas po ang resolusyon na talaga pong isasapubliko,” Laudiangco said in a Bagong Pilipinas briefing.

(That’s why Chairman Garcia has proposed it and let’s expect that the resolution that will actually make [COCs and CONAs] public will come out.)

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“Ia-upload namin sa aming website ang lahat po ng COC nang sa ganoon mapatuloy natin iyong makatotohanang pagtakbo, tapat na pangangampanya at higit sa lahat accessible ang information sa bawat botanteng Pilipino,”he added.

(We will upload all the COCs to our website to maintain honest campaigning and above all, the information is accessible to every Filipino voter.)

Laudiangco stressed that a candidate’s COC is a public document that should be known and accessed by the public to provide avenues for the filing of petitions.

“And all [petitions] can only be done if our compatriots have a copy of the COC,” he said.

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