Flood of resumés of bets in village, SK polls feared

Aspirants crowd the Commssion on Election office in Arroceros, Manila to file certificate of candidacy for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Voters may be swamped with resumés of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidates should the Commission on Elections (Comelec) require candidates to submit their biodata.

The problem posed by a flood of resumés looms because of the sheer number of candidates, who would be allowed to decide what they want to disclose to showcase their capacity, integrity and competence.

On May 14, voters will be choosing a barangay captain and seven council members as well as an SK chair and seven SK members. There are some 42,000 barangays nationwide.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is asking anew the Comelec to require candidates to submit resumés days after the poll body said candidates need not attach their resumés and campaign platform to their certificates of candidacy (COCs).

The filing of COCs started on April 14 and will end on April 20.

Platform

The submission of a campaign platform by a candidate was a DILG suggestion.

In a statement, DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya described as laudable the proposal of the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) for candidates to submit resumés.

Malaya said the proposal “should merit due consideration as it will level up the election a notch higher to give way to more competent and worthy barangay and SK leaders.”

He expressed hope that the Comelec  would give the DILG proposal “high consideration” as it would help voters in choosing candidates they will support.

“The commission is amply clothed with legal authority to grant Namfrel’s proposal in the exercise of the commission’s mandate under the Constitution to promulgate rules and regulations,” Malaya said.

Voluntary

The Comelec previously said that the submission by candidates of their resumés could be done voluntarily in the absence of a resolution issued by the poll body on the matter.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said on Wednesday that the DILG proposal was not a constitutional requirement for those seeking an elective post.

“It’s already part of the instruction that we have that candidates are requested to submit their platforms of government together with their resumés. The key word there is ’requested.’ It’s optional,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be elevated to the level of a mandatory requirement.”

While the Comelec  has yet to deliberate on the proposal, Malaya urged candidates to volunteer their resumés during the campaign period from May 4 to 12 and enable voters to choose their officials wisely.

No extension

The Comelec said the April 20 deadline for the filing of COCs would not be extended, according to Jimenez.

As of April 17, the Comelec had received a total of 305,082 applications for all barangay and SK posts.

Win or lose, candidates should file their statements of contributions and expenditures (Soces).

This was the reminder of the Comelec to those filing their COCs as its Campaign Finance Office released a list of candidates who have been perpetually disqualified from holding public office for failure to file their Soces.

A total of 105 individuals were barred from holding public office due to “repeated failure to file their Soce after elections.”

The list can be found on the Comelec website: List Of Candidates Who Are Pepetually Disqualified To Hold Public Office

Candidates in the May 14 polls should file their Soces after the election period or not later than June 13. Otherwise, they will be perpetually disqualified to hold public office, the Comelec warned. —REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE