THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday is considering moving the dates of filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), pending the decision on the proposals to postpone it.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia yesterday said this is one of the actions that the poll body could take if the bill postponing the 2022 BSKE is passed into law.

Garcia earlier said that the COC filing for the 2022 BSKE is set from Oct. 6 to 13.

He noted that it usually takes about 15 days before a bill becomes law and gets published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Due to this, the poll chief said the Comelec is now studying the possibility of adjusting the COC filing date, while Congress has yet to decide whether to postpone the 2022 BSKE.

“Amin po ngayon ay pinag-iisipan na baka puwede kaming makapag-adjust ng date ng filing ng certificates of candidacy, tutal naman, halos 60 araw ang ibibigay namin na campaign period.

Napakahaba po no’n. Dati-rati, 30 araw lang ang campaign period,” he said.

Senator Imee Marcos said on Sunday that her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is inclined to postpone the 2022 BSKE. She said he had already “promised” to barangays that he would do so.

However, she said the postponement push needs to be reviewed due to funding considerations after Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos got information from the Comelec that around P18 billion would be needed if the 2022 BSKE is postponed.

Garcia has repeatedly said that the Comelec would need a bigger budget if the BSKE will be delayed anew, saying that the poll body’s proposed 2023 budget did not include funding for the extra expenses resulting from the postponement.

He said Comelec needs P10 billion if the BSKE is postponed to May 2023 or P17 billion if it will be in December 2023.

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Yvonne P. Cervantes