Duterte can still file COC for president – Comelec 

(Updated October 16, 2015, 2:24 a.m.) Even if his representatives already filed a certificate of candidacy for mayor in Davao City, the Commission on Elections will still accept Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's COC for president if he files one on the last day of filing on Friday. 

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, however, said that under the Comelec's guidelines, a candidate who wants to change the position he's running for should withdraw the first COC and file another within the allowable period.

“Under the rules, kapag may nag-file ng more than one COC, they are deemed not filed,” Jimenez said.

According to Comelec Resolution 9984, “an aspirant, who files a CoC for more than one office, shall not be eligible for any of them”.

“If you file multiple CoCs, yes you can withdraw it as long as it is within the filing period,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez said voluntary withdrawals of COCs are allowed but are subject to the Comelec's rules.

“Pero meron tayo sa rules natin na voluntary na withdrawal,” Jimenez said.

“If he files a certificate of candidacy, yes he can withdraw it and file another one as long as it is within the filing period," he added.

Outside the Comelec office in Manila, Duterte's supporters are keeping the faith that the Davao City mayor would show up and file his COC for president.

“Baka po ang ibig nilang sabihin si Sara ang tatakbo. Darating po siya ngayon,” one of the supporters said when told about the COC for mayor Duterte's representatives filed in Davao City.

The last time Duterte indicated that he was thinking about running for president, he said that he would do so if he showed up at the Comelec in Manila on October 15, Thursday.

Sara Duterte is the daughter of the Davao City mayor. She held the mayoralty from 2010 to 2013.

In a recent Instagram post, the younger Duterte showed off her shaved head in support of calls for her father to run for president.

Yusoph Mando, who said he was a senatorial bet of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), confirmed the supporters’ claims.

“Kung hindi today, bukas na siya magfa-file,” Mando said.

Duterte had been issuing conflicting statements on whether he was running for president. —NB, GMA News