MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Thursday said the poll body will publish on its website next Friday the list of approved candidates for the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections as it wraps up the filing of the certificates of candidacy (COCs).
Garcia said the law department will redact sensitive information from the COCs and certificates of nomination acceptance (Cona) from candidates and political parties.
The Comelec en banc is set to approve the official list by next week.
READ: Comelec grants accreditation to MILF party for BARMM polls
“Once we approve the list, this is what we will print on the official ballots. The Comelec will release the official lists of certificates of candidacy on its website next Friday,” Garcia said in Filipino.
Garcia shared that the poll body accredited all the 16 regional political parties that submitted their registrations. It also accredited 23 out of 26 sectoral organizations.
For the parliamentary elections, 40 seats will be allocated for party representatives, 32 seats for district representatives, and eight seats for sectoral representatives.
Garcia noted that since the 2025 elections, the Comelec committed to publish the COCs and Conas.
He said that through this, voters will be able to scrutinize candidates and nominees, especially if they are facing issues or allegations.
“Candidates should not hide anything because once they file their candidacy, they are offering themselves for public service. Why should they not tell the truth in their COC?,” added Garcia.
He also said that the publication is done to prevent a repeat opf the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo who successfully ran and won the mayoral post despite citizenship issues.
In 2024, the Comelec filed material misrepresentation charges against Guo as it ruled that Guo “declared in her COC that she is a Filipino citizen and a resident of Bamban, Tarlac, when in truth and in fact, she is not.”
READ: After Alice Guo mess, Comelec to publish COCs, Conas for the first time
This prompted the Comelec to publish the COCs and Conas for the first time during the 2025 elections.
Disqualification cases
Meanwhile, Garcia said that those who are facing disqualification cases will still be included in the official list of candidates given that their candidacies will be approved.
“We also want to clarify that just because a candidate is facing a disqualification case, they will not be included in the official list of the candidates. As long as there is no final decision from the Comelec and it is executory, their names will remain in the official list of candidates,” Garcia explained.
He added that if a candidate is officially disqualified from running in the elections and their name is already printed on the ballots, the poll body will consider votes for them as stray.
He also said that the poll body will accept petitions for disqualification or cancellation five days after Thursday, or the last day of the COC filing. /gsg
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