RESOLUTION No. 8678
GUIDELINES ON THE FILING OF CERTIFICATES OF CANDIDACY AND
NOMINATION OF OFFICIAL CANDIDATES OF REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTIES
IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 10, 2010 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.
Promulgation: 06 October 2009
The Commission on Elections, by virtue of the power vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, and other election laws, RESOLVED to promulgate as it hereby promulgates, the following rules and guidelines on the filing of certificates of candidacy and nomination of official candidates of registered political parties in connection with the May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections.
SEC. 1. Certificate of Candidacy. - a) No person shall be elected President, Vice-President, Senators, Member of the House of Representatives, Provincial, City or Municipal officials unless he files a sworn certificate of candidacy in the form prescribed by the Commission (prescribed forms attached), and within the period fixed herein.
b) No person shall be eligible for more than one office to be filled in the same election. If he files a certificate of candidacy for more than one office he shall not be eligible for either. However, before the expiration of the period for the filing of certificate of candidacy, the person who has filed more than one certificate of candidacy may declare under oath the office for which he desires to be eligible and cancel the certificate of candidacy for the other office or office/s. Said declaration shall be filed personally or through his duly authorized representative with the proper office in accordance with Sec. 3 hereof.
c) A person who has filed a certificate of candidacy may, prior to the election, withdraw the same pursuant to Sec. 13 hereof.
d) The filing of a withdrawal of a certificate of candidacy shall not affect whatever civil, criminal or administrative liabilities a candidate may have incurred.
SEC. 2. Contents of certificate of candidacy. - The certificate of candidacy shall be under oath and shall state that the person filing it is announcing his candidacy for the office and constituency stated therein; that he is eligible for said office, his age, sex, civil status, place and date of birth, his citizenship, whether natural-born or naturalized; the registered political party to which he belongs; if married, the full name of the spouse; his legal residence, giving the exact address, the precinct number, barangay, city or municipality and province where he is registered voter; his post office address for election purposes; his profession or occupation or employment; that he is not a permanent resident of an immigrant to a foreign country; that he will support and depend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that he will obey the laws, legal orders, decrees, resolution, rules and regulations promulgated and issued by the duly-constituted authorities; that he assumes the foregoing obligations voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that the facts stated in the certificate are true and correct to the best of his own knowledge.
Unless a candidate has officially changed his name through a court-approved proceeding, a candidate shall use in a certificate of candidacy the name by which he has been baptized or if he has not been baptized in any church or religion, the name registered in the office of the local civil registrar or any other name under the provisions of existing law or, in the case of a Muslim, his Hadji name after performing the prescribed religious pilgrimage: provided, that when there are two or more candidates for an office with the same name and surname, each candidate, upon being made aware of such fact, shall state his paternal and maternal surname, except the incumbent who may continue to use the name and surname stated in his certificate of candidacy when he was elected.
The person filing the certificate of candidacy may include one nickname or stage name by which he is generally or popularly known in the locality; Provided: That no candidate shall use the nickname, stage name or initials of another. In case of several nicknames or stage names, only the nickname or stage name first written shall be considered.
Titles, such as DON, DATU, DOCTOR, GINOO, or words of similar imports shall not be allowed.
SEC. 3. Where to file certificate of candidacy. - The certificate of candidacy shall be filed in FIVE (5) LEGIBLE COPIES with the offices of the Commission specified hereunder:
A. Law Department, Commission on Elections
For President, Vice-President and Senator.
B. Regional Election Director, NCR
For Members of the House of Representatives for legislative districts in the National Capital Region (NCR);
C. Provincial Election Supervisor concerned:
1) Members of the House of Representatives of legislative districts in provinces;
2) For Provincial officials;
D. City Election Officer concerned designated for the purpose by the Regional Election Director.
1) Members of the House of Representatives for legislative districts in cities outside the NCR, which comprise one or more legislative districts;
2) For City Officials of cities with more than one election officer.
Copies of the designation of the Election Officer concerned shall immediately be submitted to the Law Department of the Commission;
E. City/Municipal Election Officer concerned
For City/Municipal Officials
The certificate of candidacy shall be filed by the candidate personally or by his duly authorized representative. No certificate of candidacy shall be filed or accepted by mail, telegram or facsimile. The authority of the authorized representative shall be in writing and under oath and attached to the certificate of candidacy.
Certificate of candidacy not filed with the correct offices as enumerated above shall not be accepted.
The filing of the certificate of candidacy of a substitute candidate, in case of valid substitution, shall be filed in accordance with Sec. 13 hereof.
The form of the certificate of candidacy shall be distributed free of charge and no filing fee shall be imposed.
SEC. 4. Effects of Filing Certificates of Candidacy. - a) Any person holding a public appointive office or position including active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other officers and employees in government-owned or controlled corporations, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from his office upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy.
b) Any person holding an elective office or position shall not be considered resigned upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy for the same or any other elective office or position.
SEC. 5. Period for filing Certificate of Candidacy. - The certificate of candidacy shall be filed on regular days, from November 20 to 30, 2009, during office hours, except on the last day, which shall be until midnight.
SEC. 6. Certificates of nomination of official candidates by the political party. - The certificate of nomination of registered political parties or coalitions of political parties of their official candidates shall be filed, in five (5) copies, not later than the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy, duly signed and attested under oath by the party president, chairman, secretary-general or any other duly authorized officer and shall bear the acceptance of the nominee by affixing his signature in the space provided therein. If the certificate of nomination of a candidate is filed within the period for filing of certificate of candidacy, but after his certificate of candidacy has been filed, a copy of the certificate of nomination shall be attached to the certificate of candidacy.
For this purpose, all registered political parties shall, not later than November 15, 2009, submit to the Law Department the names and specimen signatures of the authorized signatories to official party nominations.
No certificate of nomination or any amendment thereto shall be filed after the last day for filing of certificate of candidacy, except in case of valid substitution under Sec. 13 hereof.
No political party shall be allowed to nominate candidates more than the number of persons required to be voted for in an elective position. In such a situation, all of the nominations shall be denied due course by the Commission.
SEC. 7. Independent Candidate. - An independent candidate is one:
1) who has not been nominated by a registered political party or its duty authorized representative;
2) whose nomination has not been submitted by a registered political party;
3) who has not accepted a nomination from a registered political party;
4) who accepts nominations from more than one registered political party, except in cases of coalitions of said political parties; or
5) whose nomination was filed after the last day of filing of certificate of candidacy.
SEC. 8. Ministerial duty of receiving and acknowledging receipt of certificates of candidacy/nomination; Recording. - The receiving officer as provided for in Sec. 3 hereof shall have the ministerial duty to receive and acknowledge receipt of the certificates of candidacy/nomination by registered political parties or coalition of political parties on or before the deadline for filing of certificates of candidacy, provided said certificates are under oath and contain all the required data and in the form prescribed by the Commission. He shall stamp every copy of each certificate with the date and time of its receipt and affix his signature thereon.
The receiving officer shall enter in a record book, the following data, leaving no space between entries: a) date and time of receipt of the certificates; b) assigned consecutive number thereof; c) full name of the candidate; d) the office for which the candidate is running; e) the political party to which the candidate belongs and/or which nominated him, if any; f) the number of copies actually received; and g) the name of the receiving officer.
Without delay, after 12:00 o’clock midnight of the last day for filing certificate of candidacy, the receiving officer shall close the record book by placing a line immediately after the last entry and writing the word “closed”. He shall then affix his signature immediately below the word “closed” and indicate the date and exact time of closing.
SEC. 9. Watchers of candidates, political parties and accredited citizens’ arms. - Any candidate, political party, accredited citizen’s arm may appoint a watcher in connection with the filing and reception of the certificates of candidacy. The watcher shall be allowed to stay within the premises of the authorized receiving office and to take note of the proceedings but without interrupting or disturbing official business. Any watcher may report in writing to the Commission any irregularity, which may require appropriate action.
Watchers shall be entitled, upon written request, to secure from the receiving officer a copy of the full list of those who filed their certificates of candidacy and their respective positions.
SEC. 10. Reports on the delivery of certificates of candidacy. - The receiving officer shall, using the program provided by the Information Technology Department (ITD):
1) encode the candidates’ information and save the same in two (2) compact discs (CD);
2) print a list of candidates and affix his signature thereon.
Not later than December 2, 2009, the receiving officer shall report, by rush telegram or any available fastest means of communication to the Commission through the Law Department, a complete list of candidates who have filed their certificates of candidacy as entered in the record book. Within the same period, the record book, list of candidates duly signed, CDs, and copies of the certificates of candidacy except one copy to be retained for file, as well as the original copy of nomination, if any, shall be delivered personally to the Law Department in Manila by the following:
1) Regional Election Director for NCR – For Member of the House of Representatives in the legislative districts in the NCR;
2) Provincial Election Supervisor – For Member of the House of Representatives and provincial, city and municipal positions outside the National Capital Region;
For this purpose, the Election Officers concerned shall deliver the above mentioned items to his Provincial Election Supervisor within twenty-four (24) hours after the deadline for filing.
3) City/Municipal Election Officer – For city and municipal positions in the National Capital Region.
The Law Department shall distribute the copies of the certificates of candidacy and CDs, as follows:
1st and 2nd Copies and one (1) CD Law Department
3rd Copy and one (1) CD ERSD
4th Copy COMELEC Secretary
SEC. 11. Preparation of the Certified List of Candidates. - Immediately after the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy, the certified list of candidates shall be prepared by election officials/ department concerned as follows:
A. Law Department
For President, Vice-President and Senator;
B. Regional Election Director concerned
For Members of the House of Representatives in the legislative districts in the National Capital Region (NCR);
C. Provincial Election Supervisor concerned
For Members of the House of Representatives in legislative districts in provinces, and provincial officials;
D. City/Municipal Election Officer concerned
For city and municipal positions in the National Capital Region; and
For city and municipal positions outside of the National Capital Region.
SEC. 12. Withdrawal of Certificate of Candidacy. - Any person who has filed a certificate of candidacy may at any time before election day and subject to Sec. 13 hereof, file personally a statement of withdrawal under oath in five (5) legible copies with the office where the certificate of candidacy was filed. No statement of withdrawal shall be accepted if filed by a person other than the candidate or if filed by mail, telegram or facsimile.
The Regional Election Director, Provincial Election Supervisor, or the Election Officer concerned shall, upon receipt of the withdrawal, notify the Law Department by the fastest means of communication of the a) full name of the candidate withdrawing; b) elective office concerned; c) political party, if any; and d) substitution made, if any. On the same date, he shall retain a file copy and immediately forward to the Commission through the Law Department all the other copies. The Law Department shall, in turn, distribute the copies to the offices/departments concerned as provided under Sec. 11 hereof.
For any withdrawal of candidacy and/or substitution filed with the Commission, the field office concerned and the Project Director of Phase II shall be notified.
SEC. 13. Substitution of Candidates, in case of death, disqualification or withdrawal of another. - If after the last day for the filing of certificate of candidacy, an official candidate of a registered political party dies, withdraws or is disqualified for any cause, he may be substituted by a candidate belonging to, and nominated by, the same political party. No substitute shall be allowed for any independent candidate.
The substitute for a candidate who withdrew may file his certificate of candidacy as herein provided for the office affected not later than December 14, 2009.
The substitute for a candidate who died or suffered permanent incapacity or disqualified by final judgment, may file his certificate of candidacy up to mid-day of election day. If the death or permanent disability should occur between the day before the election and mid-day of election day, the substitute candidate may file the certificate with any board of election inspectors in the political subdivision where he is a candidate, or in the case of a candidate for President, Vice-President or Senator, with the Law Department of the Commission on Elections in Manila.
No person who has withdrawn his candidacy for a position shall be eligible as substitute candidate for any other position after the deadline for filing of certificates of candidacy.
SEC. 14. Nuisance Candidates. - The Commission may, motu proprio, or upon verified petition of an interested party refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy of candidates running for national position if it is shown that said certificate has been filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute, or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of names of registered candidates, or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate of candidacy has been filed and thus prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.
A verified petition to declare a duly registered candidate as a nuisance candidate shall be filed personally or through duly authorized representative with the Commission by any registered candidate within five (5) days from the last day for filing certificate of candidacy.
SEC. 15. Petitions to Deny Due Course to or Cancel of a Certificate of Candidacy. - A verified petition seeking to deny due course or to cancel a certificate of candidacy may be filed by any person within five (5) days from the last day for filing of certificate of candidacy but not later than twenty five (25) days from the filing of the certificate of candidacy, exclusively on the ground of material misrepresentation on the contents of the certificate of candidacy as required under Sec. 74 of the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881).
SEC. 16. Effects of Disqualification. - Any candidate who has been declared disqualified by final judgment shall not be voted for and the votes cast in his favor shall not be counted. If, for any reason, he is not declared disqualified by final judgment before the election and he is voted for and receives the winning number of votes, the case shall continue and upon motion of the petitioner, complainant, or intervenor, the proclamation of such candidate may be ordered suspended during the pendency of the said case whenever the evidence is strong.
a) where a similar complaint/petition is filed before the election and before the proclamation of the respondent and the case is not resolved before the election, the trial and hearing of the case shall continue and referred to the Law Department for preliminary investigation.
b) where the complaint/petition is filed after the election and before the proclamation of the respondent, the trial and hearing of the case shall be suspended and referred to the Law Department for preliminary investigation.
In either case, if the evidence of guilt is strong, the Commission may order the suspension of the proclamation of respondent, and if proclaimed, to suspend the effects of proclamation.
SEC. 17. Effectivity. - This Resolution shall take effect on the seventh (7th) day after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
SEC. 18. Dissemination. - The Education and Information Department shall cause the publication of this Resolution in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines and give the same the widest dissemination possible and furnish copies thereof to all Regional Election Directors, Provincial Election Supervisors, Election Officers and accredited political parties and party-list organizations or coalitions participating in the party list system of representation.
SO ORDERED.
(Sgd.) JOSE A.R. MELO
Chairman
(Sgd.) RENE V. SARMIENTO (Sgd.) NICODEMO T. FERRER
Commissioner Commissioner
(Sgd.) LUCENITO N. TAGLE (Sgd.) ARMANDO C. VELASCO
Commissioner Commissioner
(Sgd.) ELIAS R. YUSOPH
Commissioner
Attachments:
1. President, PDF format (150 KB)
2. Vice-President, PDF format (151 KB)
3. Senator, PDF format (150 KB)
4. Congressman, PDF format (152 KB)
5. Governor, PDF format (151 KB)
6. Vice-Governor, PDF format (151 KB)
7. Board Member, PDF format (152 KB)
8. Mayor, PDF format (150 KB)
9. Vice-Mayor, PDF format (150 KB)
10. Sangguniang Panlungsod, PDF format (151 KB)
11. Sangguniang Bayan, PDF format (151 KB)
