The filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the 2022 national and local elections may be done in phases depending on an elective position at stake, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec Executive Director Bartolome Sinocruz said the proposed measure aims to limit the number of people in their offices during the filing of COCs in October.
“The Comelec is now contemplating of allocating the filing days by position. Meaning there will be certain number of days for single elective positions, and there will be several number of days for multi-elective positions,” Sinocruz said in an online news briefing last week.
In previous elections, candidates who are aspiring for an elective position may submit their COC at any given day during the filing period.
As an additional precaution, the poll official said they are also considering requiring aspiring candidates to first undergo Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) before they file their COC to ensure they are free from the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“That is a matter to be decided by the en banc. It is still being studied,” Sinocruz said.
The filing of COC for the 2022 elections has been scheduled from October 1 to 8, 2021. At stake are over 18,167 national and provincial elective positions.
For those in the national position, these include 1 for president, 1 for vice president, 12 for senators, 249 for legislative district representatives, and 62 for party-list representatives.
As for local positions these will include 81 for governors, 81 for vice governors, 780 provincial board members, 146 city mayors, 146 city vice mayors, 1,644 city councilors, 1,488 municipal mayors, 1,488 municipal vice mayors, and 11,908 municipal councilors.
The filing of COC are usually marked by large crowds in Comelec offices as families, friends, and other supporters of aspiring candidates witness the event.