A REGISTRANT’S fingerprint appears on the screen of a computer being operated by a Commission on Elections worker in Masiu, Lanao del Sur. Comelec is using biometrics to reduce, if not eliminate, fraud in the registration of voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. INQUIRER MINDANAO FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—To give way to the filing of certificates of candidacy, voter registration will be suspended from October 1 to 5, the Commission on Elections said.
In a post on Twitter, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the registration period will resume on October 6.
The Comelec reminded would-be candidates to include their Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) when they file their COCs.
Jimenez said potential candidates need to submit the CONA together with their COC unless they want to be considered independent candidates.
In Resolution No. 9518, the Comelec said the CONA of the official candidates of the duly registered political party or coalition of political parties shall be, in five legible copies, attached to and filed simultaneously with the COC.
“The CONA must be duly signed and attested to under oath, either by the Party President, Chairman, Secretary-General or any other duly authorized officer of the nominating party and shall bear the acceptance of the nominee as shown by his signature in the space provided therein,” read the resolution.
“For this purpose, all duly registered political parties or coalition of political parties shall, not later than October 1, 2012, submit to the Law Department, the names and specimen signatures of the authorized signatories of their official party nominations,” it added.
The Comelec, however, said that no duly registered political party or coalition of political parties shall be allowed to nominate more than the number of candidates required to be voted for in a particular elective position; otherwise, all of the nominations shall be denied due course by the commission.
Jimenez also advised potential candidates to take seriously one of the new items in the COC, which is the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.
“In the new COC, the candidates are required to declare under oath that they will file, with the Comelec, their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) within thirty (30) days after the election,” he said, adding that this added safeguard will help in leveling the playing field by promoting transparency in the candidates’ election spending.