THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminds all appointive officials who will file their certificate of candidacy (COCs) on Oct. 1-8 for the May 2025 elections are deemed resigned.
For party-list groups, however, the nominees are considered resigned only on the first day of the campaign period, which is Feb. 11, since the Supreme Court has ruled that those running are not the nominees themselves, but rather the organizations or political parties they belong to.
Poll chairman George Garcia also reminded political aspirants to follow the guidelines set by the commission on the filing of COCs, saying the poll body will be strict in employing the number of companions that COC filers can take with them to the registration center.
“We will be strict on limiting who can. The commission’s rule will apply to all, and no one will be exempted regardless of their status or current position in the government,” Garcia said.
Based on the Comelec’s Resolution No. 11045 issued in August, senatorial aspirants will be allowed to bring a maximum of four companions, while those running for other elective offices in the national and local levels can have three companions.
Meanwhile, the Comelec will publish the COCs filed by electoral aspirants for next year’s polls.
“We will release it to the public so that the public can know who you are, if you are qualified and if you are a citizen of the country,” the poll chief said.
Candidates’ personal data will be redacted from the COCs prior to online publication.
Posting all COCs for the 2025 midterm elections online will allow the public to scrutinize candidates’ information and hold the aspirants accountable for the information they submit to the poll body.
“Two weeks after the filing of certificates of candidacy, we will post all COCs of all candidates on the Comelec website,” Garcia said.
Under Comelec Resolution No. 11045, the poll body will begin posting the COCs including the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) of the aspirants on Oct. 18, 2024.
This will be in accordance with the Data Privacy Act as it will “serve as public notice of the aspirant’s declaration of qualifications for the position sought”.
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