By Ferdinand Patinio / Philippine News Agency
Not all the 97 aspirants for president, 28 for vice president, and 175 for senators who filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) will make it onto the official ballot for the May 9, 2022 polls, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a radio interview on Saturday (Oct. 9).
The same applies to local candidates and 270 party-list groups that submitted certificates of nomination and acceptance during the Oct. 1 to 8 filing period.
Jimenez said they will strictly scrutinize the COCs to determine the final list of candidates.
“We have different categories of nuisance candidates. First, they filed just to make fun of the system. Secondly, those who filed to create confusion because they have the same names as the more famous candidates, and thirdly, those who have no legitimate intention of running for the elective office filed,” he explained.
He added they are looking at finalizing the list of official candidates by the end of the year.
“After that, we will see. We will also accept complaints against those who filed. There is such a motion that can be made in the Comelec. We will finalize the list of candidates in December,” he said.
Comelec data show the applicants for local posts reached 733 for Congress, 281 for governor, 226 for vice governor, 1,951 for Sangguniang Panlalawigan, 4,486 for mayor, 3,968 for vice mayor, and 35,636 for Sangguniang Panlungsod/Bayan.
Political parties have until Nov. 15 to replace candidates, but only party members will be allowed as substitutes.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a candidate or not. The point is, as long as you are a party mate of the person who withdrew voluntarily, then you could substitute for them,” Jimenez said in a previous interview.
Registration
After a weekend reprieve, Comelec buckles down to work anew on Monday (Oct. 11) for the start of the extended voters’ registration.
The regular registration period was stretched from Sept. 30 to the entire month of October — Oct. 1 to 14 for overseas voters and Oct. 11 to 30 for local voters.
“After the filing of COCs, #VoterReg na naman uli (again). #MagparehistroKa na (Register)!” Jimenez posted on Twitter on Saturday. (PNA) – jlo
