Candidates over 65 allowed to go out for COC filing

MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) has allowed persons over 65 years old, who are running for national and local positions in 2022, to go out of their residences to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs) in October.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said senior citizens filing their COCs at offices of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from Oct. 1 to 8 would be considered Authorized Persons Outside of Residence or APORs.

“The abovementioned persons shall be recognized as Authorized Persons Outside of Residence from Oct. 1 to 8, 2021, regardless of community quarantine classification and vaccination status,” Roque said.

Fully vaccinated senior citizens in areas under general community quarantine and modified GCQ were earlier allowed to leave their homes.

Only APOR or essential workers are allowed to go out of their residence in areas under ECQ.

8.8 million expected to register

The Comelec said it is expecting close to nine million citizens to register as voters for the May 2022 national and local elections.

Despite postponements in voters’ registration because of the pandemic, the Comelec has already recorded 5,727,223 new registrants as of yesterday.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said this number could easily reach 8,877,233 if they could reactivate at least 50 percent of the 6.3 million deactivated voters.

Guanzon said the deadline for voters’ registration is on Sept. 30 and that no extension has been sanctioned even in areas that had been placed under stricter community quarantine.

But at least seven senators filed a resolution yesteday urging the Comelec to extend voters’ registration until Oct. 31, 2021 to avoid voter disenfranchisement amid the pandemic.

Signing the resolution were Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Pangilinan, Nancy Binay, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros and Joel Villanueva.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the commissioners are now discussing whether it is possible to extend the voters’ registration.