The Commission on Elections (Comelc) has rejected a proposed house resolution postponing the period for filing of Certificates of Candidacy (CoC) from October to December, saying such delays would interrupt the poll’s preparation for the 2025 midterm elections.
Poll chairman George Garcia said delaying the filing of CoC would affect the printing of the ballots, extending the filing of pre-election cases and their resolutions.
Garcia made the remarks after Rep. Bienvenido Abante had filed House Resolution 1942 seeking to push back the COC filing period by around two months to give election aspirants more time to consider their candidacy.
“The poll body will stick to its present October 1 to 8 schedule for the filing of COCs to allot enough time for the printing of 70 million ballots,” he said.
The Comelec chief explained that rescheduling the COC filing period would compromise their preparations for the simultaneous midterm and Bangsamoro polls, adding there is no logic in moving the COC filing period.
“If you really want to run, why postpone it for two months. Just run if you want to. If not, then don’t run,” he said.
“No to delays. The October 1 to October 8 COC filing period will remain,” he said.
Guidelines prohibiting the withdrawal of candidacy after the Oct. 8 deadline will come out soon, he added.
