Comelec mulls rescheduling COC filing for brgy., SK polls

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia on Monday said they are considering moving the dates of filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), pending the decision on the proposals to postpone it.

Garcia earlier said that the COC filing for the 2022 BSKE is set from October 6 to 13.

In a radio interview on Monday, Garcia laid out their possible actions if the bill postponing the 2022 BSKE is passed into law. He noted that it usually takes about 15 days before a bill becomes a law and gets published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Due to this, he said the Comelec is now studying the possibility of whether to adjust the date of the COC filing, while Congress has yet to decide on whether or not to postpone the 2022 BSKE. 

“Amin po ngayon ay pinag-iisipan na baka puwede kaming makapag-adjust ng date ng filing ng certificates of candidacy, tutal naman, halos 60 araw ang ibibigay namin na campaign period. Napakahaba po no’n. Dati-rati, 30 araw lang ang campaign period,” he said.

(We are now considering adjusting the date of the filing the certificates of candidacy, after all, we will allot almost 60 days for the campaign period. That’s very long. Before, the campaign period was only 30 days.)

Senator Imee Marcos said on Sunday that her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., is inclined to postpone the 2022 BSKE. She said he had already “promised” to barangays that he would do so.

However, she said the postponement push needs to be reviewed due to funding considerations, after Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos got information from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that around P18 billion would be needed if the 2022 BSKE will be postponed.

Garcia has repeatedly said that the Comelec would need a bigger budget if the BSKE will be delayed anew, saying that the poll body’s proposed 2023 budget did not include a funding for the extra expenses resulting from the postponement.

He said the Comelec needs P10 billion if the BSKE were postponed to May 2023, or P17 billion if it will be in December 2023. —KBK, GMA News