Comelec requires poll bets to submit birth certificates

National

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will now require all candidates to submit birth certificates alongside their certificates of candidacy (COCs), beginning with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) scheduled on November 2, 2026 and in all succeeding elections.

Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said that the move aims to prevent cases of material misrepresentation and disqualification, particularly on issues concerning age and citizenship.

“We want all certificates of candidacy to include a birth certificate. That is for us to check where and when a candidate was born to avoid issues [regarding age] and citizenship,” Garcia told reporters in an interview per a report by Inquirer.net.

He added that the initiative is meant to strengthen public trust in the electoral process. “The Comelec has resolved to do this so that voters can no longer say that the Comelec did not do anything to prevent the candidacy of foreigners. Birth certificates will be a big help,” he said.

The policy comes in the wake of the high-profile case involving dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. In October 2024, the Commission on Elections filed material misrepresentation charges against Guo, accusing her of violating Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code after declaring eligibility in her 2022 COC despite allegedly being a Chinese citizen and resident of Fujian, China.

The poll body cited findings from the National Bureau of Investigation, which showed that Guo’s fingerprints in voting records matched those of a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.

Garcia clarified that requiring birth certificates is not unconstitutional, noting that the information is already declared in the COC. “The Supreme Court disregarded that because it is another requirement and qualification. Meanwhile, there is no additional requirement or qualification [when you ask for a] birth certificate as the birthday and citizenship are already declared in the COC,” he explained, referring to a previously proposed requirement for drug test certificates that was struck down.

Candidates for the BSKE are set to file their COCs from September 28 to October 5, 2026. However, there is an ongoing proposal to postpone the elections due to the energy crisis, with the government considering the move as a way to save around P11 billion pesos. (Samantha Faye Alcoma, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)