40 more aspirants file COCs, CANs for BARMM polls as deadline nears

MANILA, Philippines — There was a surge of aspirants who formally filed their intent to run for the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections as the deadline for certificates of candidacy (COCs) nears.

As of 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia said 38 new COCs and two new certificates of acceptance of nomination (CANs) were filed for the elective posts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) parliament.

This brings the total number of aspirants to 66.

READ: COC filing begins for BARMM elections despite postponement calls 

Most of the new COC submissions came from Lanao del Sur with 15 new filers. Furthermore, seven COC filers each were logged in Basilan, Maguindanao del Norte, and Maguindanao del Sur, while two new aspirants filed their intent to run in Tawi-Tawi.

Also, two regional parliamentary political parties filed their CANs in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) in Cotabato province.

About 65 seats are up for grabs for the upcoming autonomous polls, of which 25 are allotted for parliamentary district representatives.

The rest or 40 seats are reserved for regional parliamentary political parties, which is similar to the party-list system.

READ: Zubiri warns of possible backlash if Barmm polls postponed

The Bangsamoro Organic Law said the BARRM parliament should have 80 seats.

But eight of the seats are from sectoral groups, which shall be elected in their own convention or assembly separate from the parliamentary polls.

The seven remaining seats were supposed to be for Sulu, which is no longer part of BARRM.

The COC and CAN filing for BARRM polls began on Nov. 4 and will last until Nov. 9.