Process to resolve petition to cancel COC might take six weeks — Comelec spox

The process of resolving petitions for the cancelation of certificates of candidacy could take at least six weeks, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman Director James Jimenez said Thursday.

In an interview on Dobol B sa TV, Jimenez explained the process of how the poll body resolves a certain petition calling for a cancellation of a COC. He said the petition would first be raffled to one of the Comelec divisions, which will later issue summons.

"Well, dalawa 'yung araw na binigay ko, limang araw para sumagot at tatlong araw para mag-submit ng memoranda pero 'yung limang araw po na 'yun, depende po 'yan kung kailan niya matatanggap 'yung abiso," Jimenez said.

(Two separate days were given. Five days to respond and three days to submit a memoranda but that five days depend on when they will receive the notice.)

"So magpapadala tayo ng notice. Baka mag-raffle tayo next week, after that magpapadala tayo ng notice so baka umabot po ng hindi bababa sa anim na linggo," he added.

(So, we will send a notice. Maybe next week, we will conduct a raffle and after that we will send a notice. So it might take at least six weeks to resolve the issue.)

Talks about the process came after petitioners from human rights groups asked the Comelec to cancel former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr's candidacy for president in the 2022 elections for alleged misrepresentation.

The petitioners argued that Marcos was convicted on July 27, 1995, for failure to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985, supposedly making him ineligible to run for office as he was a "convicted criminal."

Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., dismissed the allegation, branding it as a political ploy.

Jimenez said that aside from the one filed against Marcos, the poll body is also handling several petitions for cancellations of COC.

"Bibigyan mo po kasi 'yan ng pagkakataon na mag-schedule dahil hindi lang po iisa ang cancellation na naka-file ngayon. So marami po tayong ini-schedule, so depende po 'yan sa schedule na ibibigay sa kanila," he said.

(We will consider the schedule because a lot of petitions for cancellation were also filed. So it depends upon the schedule that will be given to them.)

In a separate television interview, Jimenez said the resolution could be released by late December.

"It's probably going to be something around December because right now we're  already ending the first week of November and with five days to answer and three days to submit memoranda, that’s one week gone... and then you have to talk about different schedules so I'm estimating maybe late December," he told CNN Philippines.

Jimenez also said the Comelec en banc would decide if Marcos' name will still be included on the ballots if ever his COC is cancelled and he chooses to appeal for it.

The printing of ballots is expected to start in the middle of December, Jimenez said. —KBK, GMA News