The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has set the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in October 6 to 13, despite calls for the postponement of the said polls.
Comelec chairperson George Garcia on Sunday also said the election period is from October 6 to December 12, which will also mark the duration of the Comelec gun ban..
Garcia said there will be no COC filing on October 9, based on the Comelec’s calendar of activities for the BSKE elections on December 5.
The election period is from October 6 to December 12, which will also mark the duration of the Comelec gun ban.
“The gun ban will also take effect on October 6. For those who got the gun ban exemption in 2022, this may be carried over until the BSKE elections,” Garcia, in a radio interview, said.
The campaign period, meanwhile, will be from November 25 to December 3. Should the December 5 BSKE elections push through, casting of ballots will start from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Comelec said.
The last day to file Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) will then be on January 4, 2023, the regulator also said.
Without further advisories from Congress, the Comelec said it continues to gear up for the BSKE originally set on Dec. 5, 2022.
“We are 80 percent prepared. This September, we are aiming to complete the printing of ballots and other documents needed for the barangay and SK polls,” Garcia said.
Garcia said by mid-September, the Comelec will start printing the ballots at the National Printing Office in Quezon City. “In the event that the BSKE (Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataaan Elections) are postponed, the printed ballots will not go to waste as it can still be used in the next elections,” he said.
Several bills to postpone the two political exercises elections are still pending in Congress.
Meanwhile, the Comelec is pushing for a law that will allow senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and pregnant women to vote earlier than the general public in the next elections.
“Personally, I think this is the right time to allow seniors and PWDs, as well as pregnant women, to vote earlier so they will not be included in the general voting,” Garcia said.
He said this will prevent seniors from getting tired or waiting in long lines, and PWDs from facing difficulty in voting. Garcia said “if the government can allow the so-called local absentee voting… why not allow seniors to vote so they will no longer climb stairs or wait in long lines. Or PWDs, who are in wheel chairs, that are having difficulty.”
