MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be posting the certificates of candidacy (COC) of all local and national candidates as well as the candidates’ spending reports online in the 2025 midterm polls.
According to Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia, this is to allow the public to scrutinize whether there are questions with the candidates’ COC or their campaign spending.
“So the public may see what they (candidates) put in their COCs. The public would know who that candidate is,” Garcia said in an interview during a Comelec event in Tagaytay City.
All venues for the filing of COC, set Oct. 1 to 8, as well as the number of positions per province will likewise be posted.
For the 2025 polls, mall and internet voting will be implemented and there will be 171 venues nationwide for mall voting, which will prioritize villages surrounding the establishments.
“It’s cool in the mall. You can shop after casting your votes,” Garcia said. “It would probably eliminate election-related violence, too.”
Overseas Filipinos can participate in the elections using the internet, hinting at the possibility of utilizing the internet platform in future polls.
Filipinos will vote next year for 12 senators, 254 district representatives, 63 party-list organizations, 82 governors, 82 vice governors, 149 city mayors, 149 city vice mayors, 1,493 municipal mayors, 1,493 municipal vice mayors, and members of city councils, provincial boards, and municipal councils.
Voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will also elect 32 members of its parliament 40 party-list representatives./PN
