The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to hold the filing period of the Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for the May 2028 presidential and vice presidential polls at an earlier date.
In a radio interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that they are planning to hold the filing period in the middle of September next year instead of the usual early October.
The poll body held the COC filing period for the May 2025 midterm polls from Oct. 1 to 8, 2024.
“If the filing happens earlier, the COCs can be reviewed sooner. There would be time for anyone wishing to challenge party-list groups, and time for us to resolve such issues,” he said.
“We want to eliminate nuisance candidates. If the Comelec declares someone a nuisance candidate early on, they have time to challenge that decision before the Supreme Court. We want to avoid a situation where we are already have printed ballots only to suddenly receive a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which would force us to reprint,” the poll body chief added.
He said the decision to move up the COC filing schedules “rests with the Comelec.”
“Of course, we know there will be those who object—especially appointive officials who wish to remain in their posts. They won’t agree to it, because they would be deemed resigned immediately upon filing,” he added.
Garcia noted that the seven-man panel of the Commission has already discussed about the holding of the COC filing period early or from Sept. 20 to 27.
“This way, those planning to run are already aware of the dates being considered,” he added.