COC filing for BARMM polls starts

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Elections officers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao yesterday started accepting certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the first BARMM parliamentary elections.

Marine soldiers and police were deployed at the Bangsamoro capitol grounds in Cotabato City to secure the filing of COCs, which will run until Nov. 9.

Ray Sumalipao, chief of the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in BARMM, said the filing of COCs for aspirants to the parliament started at 8 a.m.

The Comelec said only Congress could stop the holding of the first BARMM parliamentary elections next year.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body would continue preparing for the BARMM parliamentary elections as long as there is no law stopping the electoral exercise from pushing through.