Comelec to require birth certificate for BSKE bets, future polls

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will now require the attachment of a birth certificate upon the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and succeeding elections.

This was announced by Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Thursday, noting that this aims to prevent future cases of material misrepresentation and disqualification of candidacies over issues of citizenship.

READ: After Alice Guo mess, Comelec to publish COCs, Conas for the first time

“We want all certificates of candidacy to include a birth certificate. That is for us to check where and when a candidate is born to avoid issues of underage and citizenship,” Garcia told reporters in an interview. 

Through this attachment, Garcia said that the poll bets must prove where they were born and what their citizenship is.

“The Comelec decided to do this so the public will not blame us for not doing anything to prevent the candidacy of foreigners. This is still a big help,” Garcia said in Filipino.

READ: Comelec sets COC filing for BSKE on Sept. 28 to Oct. 5

The Comelec earlier filed material misrepresentation charges against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo after it ruled that she “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.”

In its investigation, the poll body found that the fingerprints of Guo in its voting records matched those of a Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping in the National Bureau of Investigation’s database.

The poll body said the alleged false declaration in her COC violates Section 74 in relation to Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code.

Following this, the Comelec published on its website for the first time the COCs of candidates and the certificates of nomination and acceptance (Cona) of party-list groups for the 2025 elections. The poll body earlier said this would give the public the opportunity to scrutinize the COCs and Conas.

‘Not unconstitutional‘

Garcia said the submission of a birth certificate along with the filing of a COC is not unconstitutional, as the date and place of birth are also indicated in the COC.

He added that this is different from the Comelec’s earlier requirement for aspirants to submit a drug test certificate when filing their COCs.

“The Supreme Court disregarded that because it adds a requirement and qualification. Meanwhile, the birth certificate does not add any qualification or requirement, as one’s birthday and citizenship are already declared in the COC,” he explained in Filipino. /das/mcm