Comelec en banc greenlights posting of COCs, CONA on its website

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has approved "in principle" the proposal to upload the submitted certificates of candidacy (COCs) and certificates of nomination and acceptance (CONAs) on their website.

"Approved na po in principle 'yung ating proposal na 'yung mismong mga Certificates of Candidacy kasama ang Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance ay atin na pong ilalathala sa website ng Comelec," Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a chance interview Wednesday.

(My proposal to upload on the Comelec website the submitted COCs and CONAs is already approved in principle.)

He said the Comelec Law Department and Information and Technology Department are tasked to craft the guidelines on how this will be implemented without violating the privacy of the candidates.

Last week, Garcia recommended to the en banc that the received COCs and CONAs for the 2025 elections and all subsequent polls be posted within two weeks from the last day of filing of COCs.

The Comelec chief explained that this move is for greater transparency and to allow Filipinos to assess and, in some cases, question the qualifications and eligibility of the candidates.

"Ang paraan lang para mabigay natin ang tamang impormasyon sa mga kababayan natin, 'yung mismong certificate of candidacy na pina-file po nila. Take note, ito po ay public document. Therefore, hindi po dapat nililihim 'yan sapagkat 'yung mga impormasyon na naandyan 'yan mismo ang nire-require ng batas para don sa mga nagpa-file ng candidacy," he explained.

(The only way to give the right information to our people is to publish the exact certificate of candidacy filed by the aspirants. Take note, that is a public document. Therefore, that should not be kept as a secret because the information provided on that document are required by the law.)

Concerns on truthful candidacies were raised amid the issue of suspended Bamban, Mayor Alice Guo, whose citizenship was questioned due to supposed dubious documents proving that she is a Filipino.—AOL, GMA Integrated News