Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia (File photo)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday announced it has rescheduled the period of filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) over a month from its original schedule.
“We reset the filing of COCs for BSKE from July 3-7 to August 28 to Sept. 2,” said Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia in a message to reporters.
He noted that the calls of lawmakers to push back the filing period were among the reasons why they decided to move the scheduled filing.
“Not only because of their calls but because we wanted all sectors be prepared from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and our electoral board members,” the poll body chief said.
“Likewise, after reviewing our process, we believe that we can decide nuisance and dq (disqualification) cases expeditiously before the election,” he added.
Asked if the calendar of activities for the Oct. 30 polls will be affected by the change in schedule, Garcia said, “No, it’s a manual election so the names of candidates are not printed.”
Senator Francis Tolentino earlier urged the poll body to move the filing period from July to August.
On the other hand, Parañaque City Representative Gus Tambunting expressed opposition to the early setting of the COC filing period.
The poll body, in Resolution No. 10899, set the filing on July 3 to 7 to have more time to accept and resolve disqualification and nuisance cases. (PNA)
