MAASIN CITY-Those in the running for various elective positions at the local level in the province, city, and municipalities, better be informed that the last hour on the last day of filing for certificates of candidacy is until 5 pm.
It is no longer midnight on the last filing day, unlike before, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“Comelec has passed Resolution 10717, the guidelines for filing certificates of candidacy, from October 1 to 8, from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. It is no longer like before when COC filing can still be done by 12 midnight, no more,” Atty. Antonio Gulay, provincial election supervisor clarified.
Regarding substitution of candidates, this can only be possible on situations when the filer died, withdraws his/her candidacy, or be disqualified, and the deadline on this is on November 15, Gulay said during a Kapihan sa PIA forum.
There will be no substitution for independent candidates, he added.
Meanwhile, for new voters in the city, Atty. Joshua Margate, city election officer, appealed that they should not wait for the last day of registration on September 30, as has been the culture, but make use of the remaining days of the month.
The City Comelec Office is open from 8 a.m. 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. 5 p.m. for Saturdays and holidays in order to cater new registrants, which include those who will turn 18 years old on May 9, 2022, transferees from other places into the city, and change of names, especially for newly-married ladies, Margate explained.
There were 57,000 registered voters in the city during the 2019 elections, but this number was reduced to 50,000 after cleansing of lists for those who never voted twice and those who died.
New registrants, however, numbered about 5,000 at the last count, so it could be possible there will be the same number of voters, more or less, in the city for next year’s pandemic-themed voting, Margate shared.
(LDL/MMP/PIA-Southern Leyte)
