The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has revised its calendar of activities for the December 5 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) because of its possible postponement to December 2023.
Under the revised schedule the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) has been moved from October 6 to 13 to October 22 to 29, except October 23, Negros Occidental Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said on Friday, October 23.
The Comelec also reset the election and gun ban period from October 6 to December 12, to November 6 to December 20, he said.
The House of Representatives has approved a bill postponing the BSKE to December 2023 on third and final reading, and the Senate passed a similar measure on second reading.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expects the Senate version to be approved on final reading on Monday, September 26, after which the postponement will have to be signed into law by the president.
Comelec acting spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco, in a statement Friday, said “The House version of the Bill does not include a provision on what will happen to COCs filed from Oct. 6-13, 2022 in case the bill to postpone the BSKE becomes a law. There is no certainty as well if the Senate version will have a similar provision on COCs.”
“Any violation of the gun ban and other Prohibited Acts (Election Offenses) starting Oct. 6, 2022, that will be subjected to preliminary investigation, inquest or perhaps, filing of appropriate information in regional trial courts will be significantly affected and complicated in case the BSKE postponement bill becomes a law,” Laudiangco said.
Meanwhile, the Comelec continues to prepare for the December 5 BSKE, he said.*