So far, 70 senatorial, 73 party-list aspirants

MANILA, Philippines — Seventy aspirants for senatorial posts and 73 organizations and political groups have so far officially registered to take part in the midterm elections next year, as the eight-day period for filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) and certificates of nomination and acceptance (CONA) reached its fifth day yesterday.

At a press conference yesterday, Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia said the 70 senatorial aspirants included Ben Tulfo who filed his COC yesterday. Eleven other aspiring senators filed their COCs yesterday.

Garcia said 23 party-list groups filed their CONAs yesterday, for a total of 73 filers since the start of the filing period last Oct. 1.

He said 160 groups and political parties accredited by the Comelec are expected to participate in the party-list polls.

The Comelec chairman reported that in the first two days of the filing period, they received 11,393 COCs from aspirants vying for the 18,280 national and local elective posts up for grabs in next year’s elections.

In the remaining two days of the filing period, Garcia said they expect a surge of aspirants for elective posts filing their COCs.

“Actually, we’re preparing a contingency for the last two days of the filing. It’s always been in the last days of the filing of COCs that surge happens, so we’re preparing for it,” Garcia said.

He added that “big celebrities” aspiring for Senate seats are likely to be the late filers.

Garcia said they expect the filing of COCs and CONAs nationwide to be peaceful and orderly and see no need to declare areas of concern in any part of the country.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), he said, has determined that the recent killing of an Association of Barangay Captain (ABC) president in Bulacan was not election-related.

Also yesterday, the Comelec ordered the remaining partners of technology provider Miru Systems to assume the obligation of St. Timothy Construction Corp. (STCC), which withdrew from the joint venture.

Garcia said that after due deliberation, the poll body unanimously approved a resolution adopting the recommendation of its Law Department requiring the remaining partners to assume the obligation of te STCC in the joint venture and in the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project.

“As such, the remaining partners must submit its NFCC (Net Financial Contracting Capacity) or a committed line or credit line from a universal or commercial bank at least 10 percent of the contract price within 10 days,” the Comelec said in the resolution.

The Commission also directed the Law Department to determine whether St. Timothy Corp. and the Joint Venture in general can be held liable for civil, criminal or administrative liability.

Garcia said the Comelec will proceed with the Fastrac project under the contract despite the withdrawal of STCC, one of the four companies in the joint venture under Miru Systems that will supply the automated counting machines (ACMs) and other peripherals to be used for the May 2025 National and Local Elections

(NLE).

He noted that Miru had assured the Commission that the remaining partners would submit the required NFCC and comply with all their obligations under the contract.

Before STCC’s withdrawal, the Comelec received information that some of its officials were intending to run in the midterm elections for a local post in Pasig City and for party-list.

The poll chief, however, said they have yet to receive any COC from the owners of STCC.

“That fact that they voluntarily withdrew had made one thing clear – they will run and they chose politics over business,” he said in a radio interview.

He said the Comelec has been proactive in its action and will not allow those involved in any contract with the poll body to participate in the coming elections.

MOA with CHED

Meanwhile, the Comelec has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the deployment of students and personnel from universities and colleges skilled in information technology (IT) to serve during the midterm elections.

“I guarantee the skills and competence of the people from our HEIs (higher education institutions) across the country,” CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III said after the MOA signing at the Comelec central office in Manila on Friday.

“We are continuously providing them with opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. Hence, I am confident that their skills and knowledge are up to date with new technologies and they will be able to adapt with the pressures in the election process,” he added.

Under the MOA, students and personnel from HEIs with Information Technology Education (ITE) programs would be deployed as manpower technical support personnel and technicians not only on the election day on May 12, but “throughout the electoral process.”

The MOA tasks CHED to mobilize its regional offices to determine HEIs with ITE programs per municipality that are amenable to and qualified for election tasks next year.

Students and personnel chosen would be trained by Comelec “to develop the required qualifications and technical skills necessary during the electoral process and to adhere to the highest standards of political neutrality.”

The CHED said the partnership is expected to boost the poll body’s manpower with individuals who are “skilled and credible in handling modern electoral technologies and processes.”

Garcia, for his part, said the partnership is another way of ensuring the “credibility and integrity” of the upcoming elections.

“Comelec has no better partner in this undertaking than the academic institutions, especially students and faculty of Information Technology programs. By partnering with CHED and our higher education institutions, we ensure the credibility and integrity of the electoral process,” he said. — Elizabeth Marcelo