ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in this city and Iloilo province received a total of 1,181 certificates of candidacy (COCs) during the five-day filing period on Oct. 11-12 and Oct. 15-17.
It would be vetting the COCs and release the final list of candidates for the May 13, 2019 midterm elections by December.
Local elective posts at stake are for city and municipal mayor, vice mayor and city councilor; provincial governor, vice governor and provincial board member; and congressman.
Of the 1,181 COCs, 61 were filed at the Comelec Iloilo City office.
The COC filing period was peaceful and orderly, said Atty. Elizabeth Doronila, provincial election supervisor.
The law department of Comelec would evaluate the COCs then determine the qualified and the disqualified, the serious and the nuisance aspirants for the midterm polls, she added.
“Mockery of election” could be a ground for an aspirant’s disqualification, said Doronila.
Among the things that Comelec would check about COCs filers are the following:
* citizenship – must be a Filipino citizen (except for those seeking to run for senator; they should not only be Filipino citizens, they must also be natural-born Filipino citizens)
* residency – must be a resident of the place where he/she intends to run for at least one year before election day
* voter’s registration – must be a registered voter of the place where he/she intends to run
* must be able to read and write
Comelec would also be checking if the COC filers have met the age qualifications:
* for congressman – at least 25 years old on election day
* for governor, vice governor and Provincial Board member – at least 23 years old on election day
* for mayor, vice mayor and councilor (highly-urbanized city) – at least 23 years old on election day
* for mayor and vice mayor (independent component city, component city, or municipality) – at least 21 years old on election day
* for city and municipal councilor – at last 18 years old on election day/PN
