The relevance of filing a certificate of candidacy
Commission on Elections. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — In every election, candidates must file a certificate of candidacy (COC) before running for public office, but what does it entail?
For starters, filing a COC is the first step in the country’s election process as it formalizes a person’s intent to run for public office.
“It is the specific document required by law to establish the express intent of a person, or aspirant, to run for a specific elective public office, establishing his or her possession of all qualifications and none of the disqualifications, declaring as well his political party affiliation, if any,” Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told INQUIRER.net
“Given that this is a public document, it is required to be executed under oath,” he added.
This means only those who have filed their COCs can be considered candidates and have their names included in the official ballot during the elections.
Vetting
However, being able to file a COC does not make one an official candidate, hence the tag “aspiring candidates” for those who have filed their COCs.
Once aspiring candidates have filed their COCs, they are subjected to Comelec’s vetting process.
“[The COC] highlights the intent to aspire for a particular position. The COC reveals compliance with the qualification requirements of the Constitution and the law. And false material representation can be grounds for cancellation of candidacy or denial of due course coupled with misrepresentation as an election offense aside from the crime of perjury,” Comelec chair George Garcia told INQUIRER.net.
“This is therefore the document for the voters to better know the candidates,” he added.
During the vetting process, some aspiring candidates may be declared “nuisance candidates,” and being tagged as such is tantamount to being disqualified.
Under Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code a nuisance candidate is defined as one who files a certificate of candidacy “to put the election process in mockery or disrepute; or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names; or in other circumstances which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office and to prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.”
Comelec can also disqualify a candidate if the COC is invalid or if the candidate is found guilty of electoral offenses.
Vote-buying, vote-selling, threats or other forms of coercion, use of public funds during campaigning, and carrying firearms outside the residence or place of business, among others, are listed as prohibited acts equivalent to election offenses under Article 22 of the Omnibus Election Code.
In fact, even after an aspirant has been officially declared a candidate, their COC may still be the subject of legal challenges in cases of fraud or deception.
Based on the Omnibus Election Code, a candidate must file a COC within a specific period set by Comelec.
For this year, the period set for the COC filing is October 1 to 8.
