Thousands of BSKE candidates flock to malls in Manila to file COCs

Thousands of aspiring candidates in Manila flocked to malls on Monday, Aug. 28, the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Four malls in the city were tapped as venues for the COC filing: SM Manila for Districts 1, 2, and 4; SM San Lazaro for District 3, Robinsons Place Manila for District 5, and Robinsons Otis for District 6.

According to the management personnel of the malls, they started admitting the registrants at 8 a.m. but there were already queues outside the malls as early as 4 a.m.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it anticipates 40,000 filers for the posts in 897 barangays in the city including the SK positions.

The city government noted that a memorandum from Comelec-Manila had already been issued prohibiting all aspiring candidates from bringing companions when filing their COCs to avoid overcrowding at the venues.

It also advised the registrants to be patient as it becomes very difficult to accommodate many filers.

Personnel from the Manila Police District (MPD) were also deployed to the venues to ensure peace and order.

Meanwhile, the Comelec-Manila announced a cut-off of COC filing at SM Manila at around 1 p.m. on Monday due to the huge volume of registrants at the site.

More candidates are expected to file their COCs in the coming days, the city government said. 

The Comelec has set the filing of COCs for the October 30 polls until Sept. 2.

Read: https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/26/1000-mpd-cops-deployed-for-sk-elections