DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 Sept)—The Commission on Elections-Davao Region (Comelec-Davao) is anticipating an influx of candidates and supporters during the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) starting next week for the May 12, 2025 national and local elections.
Speaking during “Wednesdays Media Forum at the Habi at Kape,” lawyer Gay Enumerables, Comelec-Davao assistant regional director, said that the election officers have coordinated with the security cluster in preparation for the surge of aspirants seeking to run for public office and their constituents during the filing of COCs.
The filing of COCs will start on Oct. 1 until Oct. 8. The election period for national and local positions will start on Feb. 11 and March 28, respectively
Enumerables added that some towns requested Comelec-Davao for bigger venues in anticipation of larger crowds, which will be secured by police and military personnel.
“Every filing of COCs is really like a fiesta, so our election officers are preparing,” she added.
She added that the poll body has not recorded any election-related violence in the region, although Comelec-Davao officials have yet to meet with the security sector to discuss potential areas that may be put under the list of “areas of concern” during elections.
For Davao City, applicants for the positions of mayor, vice mayor, and House of Representatives will be received at the Comelec-Davao’s third district office while applicants gunning for seats in the city council will be at their respective Comelec-Davao district offices in Magsaysay Park.
Meanwhile, Enumerables said that as of Sept. 21, Comelec-Davao recorded a total of 374,160 processed applications for registration, transfer, reactivation, and correction since Feb. 12. Out of this total, over 150,000 were for registration of new voters.
She said the registration deadline would be on Sept. 30.
Enumerables said that election officers were very aggressive in conducting satellite registrations in barangays across the Davao Region, particularly in far-flung areas, which helped lessen the crowd at the district offices of Comelec.
Enumerables said that through satellite registrations, Comelec-Davao has covered all barangays in the region, reaching even the Lumad communities. She added that they Davao did not encounter major problems during satellite registrations, save for power outages in the provinces. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
