Online COC filing not allowed by law – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — While many things are now done online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for next year’s polls will not be one of them, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

“It has to be personal. Unfortunately, the law governing the filing of COCs is pre-pandemic vintage, so it requires personal appearance,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told “The Chiefs” on OneNews/TV5 on Thursday night.

While online filing of COCs by candidates cannot be introduced just yet by the Comelec, Jimenez assured the public that the poll body is modifying the process to prevent the activity from becoming a super-spreader event for COVID-19.

For one, the filing of COCs by candidates for national positions will no longer be held at the Comelec main office at the Palacio del Gobernador building in Intramuros, Manila since it is “so hard to secure, apart from the fact that the space there is small,” he said.

Jimenez said the Comelec will set a different venue that is “exclusive to the filing (of COCs) and away from the crowd.” He declined to elaborate.

The filing of COCs is from Oct. 1 to 8, 2021.