If you plan to run in next year’s elections, it is best that you file your certificate of candidacy (COC) early so that if there are mistakes or deficiencies, you will still have time to correct them. Besides, the Comelec offices accept the COCs only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and only during the weekdays until Wednesday, next week.
The advice came from Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano during an interview on Frankahay Ta yesterday morning. Historically, not too many among the more serious candidates file their COCs on the first day of filing which, in the case of next year’s elections, was yesterday, he said. Most wait until the last day, some of them because they wanted to see who they will be up against, while others choose dates that they consider are lucky for them.
Anticipating a rush of late-filers on the last day, Castillano said the Comelec has assigned personnel who will list the names of candidates who are in the Comelec offices at 4:45 p.m. Only those in the list will be allowed to file their COCs past the 5 p.m. deadline.
There are 22 questions that the candidate must answer in his COC. The 22nd is an innovation in that it is asked only this year. Has the applicant been convicted of an offense that carries with it the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding elective or appointive public office? If the answer is yes, the candidate is required to give the details.
I suppose the question was added by the Comelec to make it easier for them to ascertain the facts in case a candidacy is questioned on the basis of the candidate being perpetually barred from public office. The COC is made under oath so that if the candidate makes untruthful statements, he can be jailed.
As for disqualification, Catillano said that a petition to annul or void a COC must be filed within five days from Oct. 17. It can be submitted to the election officer of the locality where the person sought to be disqualified is a candidate or in the poll body’s main office in Manila. Castillano said it is advantageous for the petitioner to file it in Manila because the case can be immediately docketed and raffled to a division.
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Former City of Naga mayor Val Chiong has been offered to run for Cebu vice governor in tandem with 3rd District Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia. After Val demurred, the offer was made to his daughter, incumbent Mayor Kristine Chiong instead.
The Chiongs have a big decision to make. Are they ready to move out of their comfort zone and engage in a grueling province-wide campaign? Winning in Naga is going to be a breeze for them but the provincial elections are on a different and much more difficult level as they will be up most probably against incumbent Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and the formidable Durano machine.
A big factor in the Chiongs’ decision-making process will be the opinion of Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, the undisputed political leader in the first district. The Chiongs and Gullas go a long way, dating back to the days when Val’s late brother, Enan, was waging a fruitless campaign against Mayor Paul Ong, now also deceased.
With Gullas’s unflinching support, Enan broke Ong’s stranglehold on his third try. The rest, as they say, is history.