Comelec agrees to extend filing of COC until Saturday

Aspirants crowd the Commission on Election office in Arroceros, Manila to file certificate of candidacy for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to extend the filing of certificates of candidacy for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections until Saturday, April 21.

Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon announced the development in a post on her Twitter account on Friday afternoon.

“Extended filing of certificates of candidacy for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan candidates until tomorrow [Saturday], 5 p.m.,” she said on her Twitter account, @commrguanzon.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the extension was made in view of the National Youth Commission’s (NYC) resolution, which stated that the number of COCs filed would fall short of SK positions up for grabs in the May 14 polls.

Jimenez said similar concerns were also raised with regard to the number of COCs filed for the Barangay elections.

“The filing hours on 21 April 2018 will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,” Jimenez said in a statement issued on Friday evening.

The Comelec commissioners met to discuss if the filing of candidacy papers should be extended beyond its original deadline, which was on April 20.

“We are voting now to extend [the filing] until tomorrow [April 21]. Please wait for official announcement,” Guanzon said on her social media account.

The Comelec apparently extended the filing of the certificates of candidacy because of a low turn-out.

“Low turn-out. Young people, where are you?” Guanzon said.

As of 3:30 pm Friday, the Comelec recorded 587,042 certificates of candidacy for the barangay elections, and 272,047 certificates of candidacy for the Sangguniang Kabataan elections.