NEGROS Occidental Provincial Election Supervisor Jessie Suarez confirmed last night that the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or youth council elections is extended until Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The last day of the filing of candidacy is supposedly April 20.
Suarez said the order from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Friday was received by his office late in the afternoon which could be based on the situation in Metro Manila.
He said only a few candidates have filed their COCs at the different Comelec offices in the province and its capital city Bacolod. “That's why the extension was not expected.”
"I went to southern Negros yesterday to check and assess the situation. The Comelec offices have the same situation in Bacolod City as far as filing of the COCs is concerned,” Suarez said.
He said most of the candidates have filed their COCs on April 18 and 19. April 18 was perceived to be a lucky day according to Feng Shui belief.
The provincial Comelec office is now collating all the records of all local poll offices, Suarez said.
Suarez added the total number of candidates would be determined today when all the Comelec offices could already submit their records.
On April 25, Suarez said he will hand carry all the COCs for submission to the Comelec national office including the Certified List of Candidates, CDs, and Logbooks.
Suarez said he will be back to the province on May 2, adding that's when he will conduct a command conference with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for the determination of the election watchlist areas.
Suarez said that the Comelec will validate the hotspot areas submitted by the police and the army.
In Resolution 10310, which was inked Friday, April 20, the Comelec said aspirants in the coming May 14 twin elections could still file their candidacies from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 21.
"Initial reports from our field officials confirm not only the low turnout of candidates for the youth council elections but also as to the village elections," the resolution read.
"In order to prevent this low turnout of candidates, it is imperative to give additional time to potential candidates to file their COCs," it added.
The resolution was signed by Comelec acting chairman Al Parreño, and commissioners Luie Tito Guia, Rowena Amelia Guanzon and Sheriff Abas.
In Bacolod City, a total of 2,363 candidates in have filed their COCs for the May 14 election.
City Election Registrar Mavil Majarucon-Sia said a total of 252 candidates filed their COCs Friday.
She added three candidacies have withdrawn their COCs.
Of the number, 165 candidates are running for barangay captain, 1,316 for barangay kagawad, 164 for SK chairperson and 718 for SK kagawad.
On April 18, Comelec finished the data by 12 midnight because several candidates flocked to Comelec because of the belief of Feng Shui. On that day alone, Comelec accepted a total of 781 COCs.
Comelec is preparing its data to submit the report to the Election Registration Board. (with reports from SunStar Philippines)