THE Commission on Elections said on Monday it will also be sending personal notices to Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), who are facing possible election offences due to premature campaigning.
The poll body made the assurance amid reports some of the said BSKE candidates have yet to receive their Show Cause Order (SCO).
“The Show Cause Orders were sent via the email address they stated in the COC [Certificate of Candidacy],” Comelec spokesperson John Rex C. Laudiangco said in a Viber message to reporters.
“If the email bounced due to ‘invalid email address,’ the SCO will be sent via personal service through the Office of the Election Officer, ensuring due process,” he added.
In its latest data, the poll body reported it issued SCOs to 1,955 candidates as of September 23, 2023.
Of these, 66 are facing disqualification charges, while 104 others had the complaints against them dropped for lack of “factual basis.”
Under Comelec rules, electioneering activities for the upcoming BSKE are prohibited until the start of its campaign period on October 19, 2023.
In a related development, Comelec Chairman George M. Garcia said barangays with no candidates for the next BSKE on October 30, 2023 will be assigned an officer-in-charge by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“OICs will be appointed. It is possible for the incumbent to be retained,” Garcia told reporters in a separate Viber message.
The poll official said they will be releasing the number of areas with no BSKE candidates.