Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH (20th) CONGRESS 
FIRST REGULAR SESSION 
House Bill No. 2735 
Introduced by 
Rep. ROBERT NAZAL 
AN ACT​
STRENGTHENING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FILING OF CERTIFICATES OF 
CANDIDACY, AMENDING SECTION 76 OF BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 881, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Filipino voters deserve a ballot that lists only those aspirants who have proved their 
basic eligibility to serve. During the May 2022 national and local elections, the 
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) received 47,853 Certificates of Candidacy 
(COCs) for 18,100 positions - a volume the agency itself admitted was unusually heavy 
and difficult to police. Of the 97 people who filed for the presidency, COMELEC had to 
initiate nuisance-candidate cases against eighty-two; parallel actions followed for fifteen 
of twenty-nine vice-presidential and 108 of 176 senatorial hopefuls. Each deficient filing 
drains staff time, clogs dockets and can distort representation: in 2023 the Supreme 
Court nullified a congressional proclamation in Zamboanga del Norte after votes of a 
nuisance candidate were wrongly credited to another contender, reminding all that the 
true winner must be proclaimed without delay. 
COMELEC Chair George Erwin M. Garcia has publicly asked Congress for authority to 
refuse COCs that lack an authenticated birth certificate or equivalent proof, noting that 
the poll body’s present duty is “purely ministerial” and that it must accept any COC 
whose blanks are merely filled in. The proposed amendment to Section 76 of the 
Omnibus Election Code provides that authority. It requires a Philippine Statistics 
Authority-issued birth certificate (or judicial substitute) and other primary documents, 
empowers election officers to refuse incomplete filings outright, and affords a uniform 
five-day window for candidates to cure deficiencies. The measure also directs 
COMELEC to create, within three years, a secure online filing portal that can 
cross-check uploads against government databases, and it sets criminal penalties for 
falsified papers as well as administrative sanctions for negligent personnel. 
July 30, 2025
6:27 pm


Four immediate gains follow. First, early screening prevents thousands of hours of 
litigation, allowing COMELEC lawyers and the courts to focus on genuine electoral 
disputes. Second, voters are protected from confusion and from ballots crowded with 
names that can never assume office. Third, accountability improves, because fraudulent 
filers and delinquent officials face real consequences. Finally, the reform aligns election 
administration with the national e-Governance agenda, ensuring that COC vetting keeps 
pace with digital civil-registry systems. 
Requiring every would-be public servant, famous or unknown, to back a COC with 
authentic documents honors both ideals: it safeguards the people’s sovereign choice 
and models the transparency the next generation is urged to uphold. The Enhanced 
COC Documentary Requirements Act of 2025 is therefore a modest but decisive step 
toward elections that are cleaner, quicker, and fully worthy of the democratic aspirations 
enshrined in the Constitution. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
Rep. ROBERT NAZAL 
Bagong Henerasyon Party-List 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH (20th) CONGRESS 
FIRST REGULAR SESSION 
House Bill No. 2735 
Introduced by 
Rep. ROBERT NAZAL 
AN ACT​
STRENGTHENING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FILING OF CERTIFICATES OF 
CANDIDACY, AMENDING SECTION 76 OF BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 881, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act shall be known as the “Enhanced COC Documentary Requirements Act of 
2025.” 
SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 
It is hereby declared the policy of the State to safeguard the integrity, credibility, and 
efficiency of the electoral process by strengthening the standards and documentation 
required for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC). The State recognizes that 
elections are the foundation of democratic governance and shall ensure that only those 
who are constitutionally qualified, compliant with applicable laws, and capable of 
faithfully executing the duties of public office may validly run for election. 
To this end, the State shall require all candidates to demonstrate minimum eligibility 
through verifiable documentation, thereby reducing the incidence of nuisance 
candidates, disqualification cases, and administrative burdens on electoral bodies. This 
policy shall likewise promote the efficient adjudication of electoral contests and uphold 
the sovereign right of the people to informed political choice. 


 
SECTION 3. OBJECTIVES.  
 
This Act seeks to reinforce the legitimacy and integrity of the electoral process by 
establishing stricter requirements and administrative protocols for the filing of 
Certificates of Candidacy (COCs). Specifically, it shall: 
 
A.​
Require the submission of primary, duly authenticated documentary evidence 
proving a candidate’s eligibility, including but not limited to proofs of citizenship, 
age, residency, voter registration, educational attainment (where applicable), and 
other qualifications prescribed by the Constitution and relevant statutes, at the 
time of filing the COC; 
 
B.​
Authorize the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to summarily reject, without 
prejudice, any Certificate of Candidacy that is incomplete, unverified, or not 
compliant with the documentary requirements prescribed under this Act or its 
implementing rules and regulations; 
 
C.​
Establish time-bound procedures governing the submission of supplemental 
documents, the rectification of clerical or formal defects, and the appeal of adverse 
decisions made by the Commission, ensuring that due process is observed within 
the constraints of the electoral calendar; 
 
D.​
Prescribe administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions against candidates or 
persons who knowingly submit false, spurious, or tampered documents, or who 
willfully omit material facts in order to mislead the Commission or gain undue 
advantage in the electoral process; and 
 
E.​
Enhance the transparency, credibility, and efficiency of candidate vetting by 
empowering COMELEC to coordinate with relevant government agencies such as 
the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of 
Immigration (BI), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the verification 
and cross-referencing of submitted records. 
 
 
SECTION 4. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 76, OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE 
 
Section 76 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
“Section 76. [Ministerial duty of receiving and acknowledging receipt. - The 
Commission, provincial election supervisor, election registrar or officer 
designated by the Commission or the board of election inspectors under the 
succeeding section shall have the ministerial duty to receive and 
acknowledge receipt of the certificate of candidacy.] 
 


CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY. – THE CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY 
SHALL 
BE 
FILED 
WITH 
THE 
FOLLOWING 
MANDATORY 
ATTACHMENTS:​
 
(A)​FOR ALL ELECTIVE POSITIONS, AN AUTHENTICATED COPY OF 
THE CANDIDATE’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR, IN ITS ABSENCE, A 
JUDICIALLY RECOGNIZED SUBSTITUTE DOCUMENT; 
 
(B)​FOR NATURALIZED FILIPINO CITIZENS, A CERTIFIED TRUE COPY 
OF THE DECREE OF NATURALIZATION AND VALID PHILIPPINE 
PASSPORT; 
 
(C)​FOR CANDIDATES CLAIMING RESIDENCY OUTSIDE THEIR PLACE 
OF BIRTH, A SWORN RESIDENCY AFFIDAVIT SUPPORTED BY AT 
LEAST TWO VERIFIABLE PROOFS OF RESIDENCE; 
 
(D)​FOR ELECTIVE BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN 
POSITIONS, A CERTIFICATE OF GOOD MORAL CHARACTER 
ISSUED BY THE BARANGAY OF RESIDENCE; AND 
 
(E)​SUCH OTHER DOCUMENTS AS MAY BE PRESCRIBED BY THE 
COMMISSION IN ITS IMPLEMENTING RULES. 
 
NO CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY SHALL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS 
ACCOMPANIED 
BY 
ALL 
APPLICABLE 
ATTACHMENTS. 
THE 
COMMISSION SHALL ISSUE IMMEDIATELY A WRITTEN REFUSAL OF 
ACCEPTANCE INDICATING THE DEFICIENCIES, A COPY OF WHICH 
SHALL BE MADE PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD. 
 
A CANDIDATE WHOSE COC HAS BEEN REFUSED MAY CURE THE 
DEFICIENCY WITHIN FIVE (5) CALENDAR DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF 
THE REFUSAL; OTHERWISE, NO FURTHER FILING SHALL BE 
ALLOWED, AND THE INDIVIDUAL SHALL BE DEEMED NOT A 
CANDIDATE FOR ALL LEGAL PURPOSES. 
 
ACCEPTANCE OF A FACIALLY COMPLETE COC SHALL BE WITHOUT 
PREJUDICE TO SUBSEQUENT PETITIONS UNDER SECTION 78.” 
 
 
SECTION 5. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE.  
 
If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the provisions not 
affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
 
 


SECTION 6. REPEALING CLAUSE.  
 
All laws, executive orders, proclamations, rules, regulations, and other issuances or 
parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended 
accordingly. 
 
 
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVITY.  
 
This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its complete publication in the 
Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
 
Approved,