Comelec says ‘no’ to online COC filing

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has junked calls to allow the online filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) in a bid to avoid personal contacts amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

In a 40-page resolution approved on Aug. 18, the Comelec said that the COC should be filed by the aspirant personally or through an authorized representative with a sworn and signed “Authority to File the COC.”

“No COC filed by mail, electronic mail, telegram or facsimile shall be accepted. The filing of the COC of a substitute aspirant, in case of valid substitution, shall be filed in accordance with (Section 40 of the resolution),” the Comelec said.

The Comelec resolution is available on the poll body’s official website.

After the Sept. 30 deadline of voter registration, the Comelec’s resolution stated that the filing of COC will be from Oct. 1 to 8, including weekends, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Comelec said that a COC filed in accordance with the guidelines will be stamped “received” at the time it was filed and shall be deemed filed on time, while incomplete documents will not be accepted and shall not be stamped “received” on time despite the presence of the aspirant.

A COC will be deemed incomplete if it has no documentary stamp attached, no signature of the aspirant, not notarized or no signature of the notary public, incomplete address, no photograph and not completely filled out.

In another development, the Comelec reminded unregistered individuals that there are only 39 days left before the Sept. 30 deadline of voter registration. The Comelec said that the extended voter registration hours will start on Monday.

Under the new schedule, the Comelec will start voter registration from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be open on Saturdays and holidays except in areas placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ.