THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday reminded political parties, aspirants, and participating party-list organizations to strictly observe the rule on the number of allowed companions when they file their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) and Certificate of Nomination – Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination (CON-CAN) beginning next week.
Under Comelec Resolution No. 11045, an aspirant for the position of senator may be accompanied by a maximum of four persons when filing his or her COC.
On the other hand, the poll body said the chairperson, president, or secretary-general or any authorized representative of party-list groups may be accompanied by a maximum of four persons during the filing of the CON-CAN, with the presence of the nominees not mandatory.
For aspirants for local elective offices or their authorized representatives, they shall be allowed to be accompanied by a maximum of three persons during the filing of COCs.
In an interview after inspecting the site of the COC and CON-CAN filing at the Manila Hotel, Comelec chairman George Garcia said they intend to implement the rule on the number of allowable companions during the filing period from October 1 to 8 nationwide.
“We hope that they will follow the rule. We don’t want to have a standoff with them. If they challenge our rule, they will be forcing our hand. To avoid such incidents, let us choose who will you bring along,” said Garcia.
“It would be better if they follow the rule. If we become flexible, the others will question us. The rule will be applicable to all. Therefore, there will be no exemption, regardless if they are incumbent officials or not,” he added.
Garcia explained that the rule was put in place to ensure that the COC filing activities will not be chaotic.
Asked what sanction awaits those who will insist on bringing a hoard of supporters, Garcia said it will be up to the judgement of the public.
“If we won’t follow the simple rule during COC filing, how much more the more significant guidelines such as campaigning, social media use, lawful campaign materials?” pointed Garcia. “It’s a question of character.”
Back in the 2019 polls, the Commission imposed a rule on having only four companions in filing COCs for senatorial aspirants at the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros.
The Comelec, however, broke its own rule when it allowed then Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Bong Go to be accompanied by then President Duterte, several government officials, and over two dozen supporters in filing his COC.
Yesterday, the Comelec conducted an ocular inspection of the Manila Hotel where the COCs and CON-CANs for senatorial and party-list candidates, respectively, will be filed.
For those running for members of the House of Representatives, they are slated to file their COCs at the Office of the Regional Election Director (for National Capital Region), Office of Provincial Election Supervisor (for provincial legislative districts), Office of the Election Officer (for city legislative districts outside Metro Manila).
COCs will be filed in the Offices of Provincial Election Supervisor for those running for governors, vice governors, and provincial board members.
The Offices of the Election Officer, meanwhile, shall receive the COCs for candidates for mayors, vice mayors, and councilors.
Garcia advised aspirants to check with their local Comelec offices on the exact venue of the COC filing as there are some local poll officials who have requested changes in the venue.
“There are local Comelec officials, who opted to have the COC filing venues transferred in areas like malls, gyms, or places that are bigger and more comfortable,” said Garcia.
In a related development, Garcia said at least 73 million ballots are set to be printed for the forthcoming national, local, and Bangsamoro parliamentary polls at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City beginning December 2024.
“We shall print 73 million ballots. That’s 70 million for the national and local polls, one million for our test ballots that we shall use for voters’ education, and two million for the Bangsamoro elections,” he said, adding: “But we can still increase the number depending on the outcome of our ongoing voter registration, which will end on September 30.”
NPO Director Renato Acosta, for his part, bared that they are looking to begin printing the official ballots by December 2024.
Acosta said they shall be operating 22 hours a day, seven days a week to meet the target deadline of March 2025. “We are very confident that we can meet the target, and even finish before the deadline of the printing,” he said.
As part of the Comelec’s service contract with Miru Systems to print the official ballots, the South Korean firm has brought two new state-of-the-art printing machines identified as “HP PageWide Advantage 2200”.
According to HP Category Manager Tony Paguirigan, the printing machines are the first of its kind in the whole of Asia and was just introduced in the market last March.
“Our target is to produce one million ballots per day. What’s new about this machine is it has very minimal human intervention since it is fully automated. It will produce finish ballots or from roll to ballots,” said Paguirigan.
In the event that the printing machine malfunctions, Paguirigan said about 90 percent of its spare parts are readily available, along with one backup unit.
Acosta said the printing machines of the NPO are also on standby in the event of an “extreme” scenario during the printing of the official ballots.
