Candidates for the Oct. 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections trooped to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Muntinlupa on Aug. 28 to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs).
Comelec Commissioner and Muntinlupa resident Rey Bulay visited the Comelec-Muntinlupa office, headed by lawyer Kim Alzate-Cu, to observe the first day of the filing of COCs. Bulay previously served as councilor for several terms in Muntinlupa.
Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay talking to Comelec-Muntinlupa officer Kim Alzate-Cu and candidates for the Sangguniang Kabataan at the local poll office in Muntinlupa on Aug. 28 (Jonathan Hicap)
Sangguniang Kabataan bets in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa file their COCs with the local Comelec office on Aug. 28 (Jonathan Hicap)
Comelec checkpoint in Alabang, Muntinlupa on Aug. 28 (Jonathan Hicap)
Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay gamely poses with Sangguniang Kabataan candidates on Aug. 28 (Jonathan Hicap)
Barangay kagawad aspirants Levi Marcelo (left) of Ayala Alabang and Alexander Cabrera of Alabang show their COCs (Jonathan Hicap)
Under Comelec rules, the filing of COCs will be from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, and the campaign period for candidates will be from Oct. 19 to 28.
For SK in Muntinlupa, the first group to file their COCs was Barangay Poblacion SK chairperson bet Noreen Argana together with her seven candidates for SK kagawad: Jai Fernandez, Sam Poblacion, Max Arciaga, Gab De Mesa, Joshua Flores, Airol Gamboa, and Niccolo Gonzales.
For barangay positions, the first to file the COC was Levi Mendoza, who is seeking a seat in the Sangguniang Barangay of Ayala Alabang. Mendoza is the administrator of Barangay Ayala Alabang and he decided to run for the position of barangay kagawad.
Alexander Cabrera, on the other hand, also filed his COC as an independent candidate for the position of barangay kagawad of Alabang. He said he previously ran in the past election.
Alzate-Cu said the peace and order situation in Muntinlupa for the election period remains peaceful.
“So far peaceful naman po. Sana it will remain peaceful all throughout (So far it’s peaceful. Hoping that it will remain peaceful all throughout,” she said.
The Comelec and the Muntinlupa police set up a checkpoint in front of the Ayala Malls South Park in Alabang where the local Comelec office is located.
Data from Comelec-Muntinlupa showed that there are 319,654 registered voters for the barangay election and 93,723 registered voters for the SK election. There are 948 polling precincts in 28 polling centers in Muntinlupa.
Last June, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Republic Act No. 11935 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year, postponing the barangay and SK elections from December 2022 to Oct. 30 this year.
As a result, the winners of the barangay and SK elections will have a shorter term of two years as the Supreme Court ordered that the next election will be held on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter.
“Kaya nga hirap kami kung matutuloy iyon, kung 2025 din (That’s why we are having a hard time if that will push through, if it is in 2025 also). We will have two elections in 2025. The mid-term in May and the barangay in December,” said Bulay, adding that Comelec filed a motion for reconsideration regarding the decision.