ILOILO City – The five-day period for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the May 2019 midterm elections starts tomorrow, Oct. 11.
The last day of COC filing is Oct. 17.
Oct. 13 and 14 are weekends and not counted in the five-day COC filing period, said Regional Director Dennis Ausan of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec offices will accept COCs from 8 a.m. to 5 a.m.
There are no extensions in the COC filing period, said Ausan.
Those interested to run in the elections may secure the COC at local election offices or download it from the Comelec website, http://www.comelec.gov.ph/?r=2019NLE/COC.
Elective posts at stake are for senator, member of the House of Representatives, governor, vice governor, member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board), city and municipal mayor and vice mayor, member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council), and member of the Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council).
Securing the COC early would help candidates avoid committing errors in filling it out, said Ausan.
The COC must have the candidate’s photograph, signature and documentary stamp on top of being notarized.
The filer must also submit the following: Certificate of Nomination (from a political party if a party member), Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination and Authority to File Certificate of Candidacy.
QUALIFICATIONS
According to Ausan, a COC filer must have the qualifications and none of the disqualifications. These are the following:
* must be a Filipino citizen (except for those seeking to run for senator; they should not only be Filipino citizens, they must also be natural-born Filipino citizens)
* must be a resident of the place where he/she intends to run for at least one year before election day
* must be a registered voter of the place where he/she intends to run
* must be able to read and write
The age qualifications are the following:
* for senator – at least 35 years old on election day
* for congressmn – at least 25 years old on election day
* for governor, vice governor and Provincial Board member – at least 23 years old on election day
* for mayor, vice mayor and councilor (highly-urbanized city) – at least 23 years old on election day
* for mayor and vice mayor (independent component city, component city, or municipality) – at least 21 years old on election day
* for city and municipal councilor – at last 18 years old on election day
According to Ausan, the midterm election would be automated./PN
