ELECTION officers in Baguio City and Benguet province convened on Friday, October 5, to prepare for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) starting this week.
Filing of COCs is scheduled for October 11 to 17, except weekends.
Baguio-Benguet election supervisor Elenita Capuyan said she expected more candidates to file their COCs for the May 2019 mid-term elections.
The filing of COCs, originally set on October 1 to 5, was moved to October 11 to 17 to allow lawmakers to complete deliberations on the 2019 national budget.
"This is no longer extendible," Capuyan said.
She said she expected more candidates this time.
"Mas marami ngayon because there are other people who want to aspire to become government official. There are others aside from the traditional that want to enter the political field," she added.
Positions up for grabs in the May 2019 elections include local posts from provincial governors down to city and municipal councilors as well as seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Filing of COCs is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Saturday and Sunday.
Following the filing of COC, the list of candidates would be available starting October 18.
The election period begins January 19 while the campaign period will be from March 30 to May 11, 2019 in the local level and February 12 to May 11 in the national level.
