Filing of COCs for national candidates to move in a bigger venue amid pandemic
The filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for national posts in the 2022 election would be held in a hotel tent in Pasay City instead of the Commission on Elections's (Comelec) headquarters in Intramuros, Manila, to ensure the observance of health protocols amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

During a meeting of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System on the poll body's preparations for next year's elections, Comelec executive director Bartolome Sinocruz disclosed that the filing of COCs for national candidates from October 1 to 8 will be in a hotel tent.
"The filing of certificates of candidacy for national positions will be at the Sofitel, in one of their tents," Sinocruz told lawmakers.
"The doors will be open, there will ventilation, and then there's a big space to be divided to venue for filing for president, vice president, senators and party-lists," he added.
The Comelec earlier issued guidelines limiting the number of persons present in the filing of COCs in offices and venues to allow physical distancing.
Aspiring candidates for president, vice president, senator, as well as representative of party lists, shall also be required to under RT-PCR or antigen test before prior to filing their COCs.
For local candidates, Sinocruz said local election officers were given the authority to move to bigger filing venues.
"Under our rules on the filing of COCs, the election officers and the provincial election supervisors were given the authority to transfer their filing venues. Just to comply with COVID-19 ," he said, adding that some local Comelec offices are "sufficient".
But lawmakers were not convinced with the Comelec's officials' assurance, noting the local offices were only housed in provincial capitol and city halls.
"Wala pa akong nakikitang election office sa probinsya na hindi enclosed. Lahat po hindi po pwede para sa COVID-19 protocols (I have yet to see an election office in the provinces that is not enclosed. All of them are not fit for the COVID-19 situation)," Senator Imee Marcos, joint congressional panel co-chair for the Senate, said.
House panel chairperson Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr., meanwhile, suggested that the filing for local candidates be held in a bigger venues "to observe basic health protocols".