MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday it moved the period for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

The new dates for the COC filing is now from August 28 to September 2 from the earlier schedule of July 3 to 7, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a press conference.

"Minarapit po natin ito na gawing August 28 to September 2 dahil maraming panawagan," Garcia said.

(We moved it to August 28 to September 2 because of widespread calls.)

"Kaya naman talaga pinaaga 'yong filing ng candidacy namin upang masigurado na lahat ng kaso ng disqualification at lalo na ang kaso nuisance candidates ay ma-resolve ng komisyon bago mag-eleksiyon ng October," he added.

(The reason why we set the filing of candidacies at an earlier period was to make sure that we can resolve the disqualification and nuisance candidates cases before the elections in October.)

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Garcia assured the public that the poll body could resolve disqualification and nuisance candidate complaints even with the new COC filing period.

It's also better to move the COC filing dates near the voting period to avoid incidents of election-related violence, he added.

Meanwhile, Garcia said the Comelec continues to prepare for automated elections in 2025, with policy directions to be discussed in the coming days.

The Comelec is also planning to use an automated system for the 2026 barangay and SK elections, Garcia said.

— Report from Raya Capulong, ABS-CBN News

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