TO AVOID any confusion brought by the holidays this month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to extend the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) by one more day.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said they have agreed to extend the filing of COC until 12 midnight of December 1 in order to accommodate the candidates who plan to run for the May 2010 polls.

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“Our deadline for the filing of application for candidacy is November 30 which is a holiday. So from November 20, we will be open for the filing of application of candidacy regardless whether it’s a Saturday or a holiday including those holidays in the Armm (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao),” Melo told reporters in a news conference Tuesday.

Originally, the Comelec en banc set the filing of the COC from November 20 to November 30, but since November 30 is a holiday, they decided to extend it to December 1.

In the last 2004 presidential elections, nuisance candidates are the ones who filed first their COC and the legitimate candidates lodge their COC on the last day of the filing.

Since the May 2010 elections is a national polls, the Commission expect a great number of candidates that will participate.

A total of 68,000 candidates ran in the May 2004 elections while some 46,000 aspirants filed their COC in 2007. (MSN/Sunnex)