Comelec, IATF drafting voting guidelines for May 2022 polls

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to come up with guidelines on voting for the May 2022 elections by October.

Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said Saturday they are crafting the guidelines with the government on how the voting process would be conducted in next year’s elections amid the pandemic.

“The Comelec is in coordination with the Inter-Agency Task Force (for the Management of) Emerging Infectious Diseases in the ongoing drafting of the voting guidelines for the 2022 elections. The guidelines are expected to be released by October 1, 2021,” she said in a Facebook post.

Meanwhile, the Comelec reminded aspirants in next year’s elections that their Certificate of Candidacy (COC) must be filed personally.

“The COC shall be filed by the aspirant personally or through an authorized representative with a sworn and signed Authority to File the COC,” reads Resolution 10717 promulgated on August 18.

“No COC filed by mail, electronic mail, or facsimile shall be accepted. No filing fee shall be imposed for the filing of the COC,” it added.

The period for the filing of COC will be from October 1 to 8.

In Resolution 10717 released on Friday, the poll body also required candidates for president, vice president, and senator to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken within the past 24 hours before the filing of COC at its main office in Manila.