The personnel of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and poll hopefuls have been classified as authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) to pave a way for the filing of certificate of candidacy in October, for next year’s national and local polls.

The inclusion of Comelec officials and employees, as well as aspirants for elective posts, in the list of APORs was approved Thursday by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.

“All Commission on Elections officials and employees [have been considered] as Authorized Persons Outside of Residence,” Roque, also acting as IATF-EID spokesperson, said in a press statement.

For purposes of filing of COC and certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA), the chairperson or president of the political party, sectoral party, organization or coalition under the party-list system has been listed as APOR.

In the absence of the chairperson or president, the party’s secretary-general or authorized representative will also be considered APOR, Roque said.

Also classified APORs are aspirants or their authorized representatives, as well as their companions, as authorized under Comelec Resolution No. 10717.

The Comelec officials or personnel whose tasks involved the submission of hard copies of COC and related documents or materials to the Comelec main office have also been considered APORs, Roque said.

The filing of COC has been scheduled from Oct. 1 to 8 this year.

The venue for the COC filing will no longer be at the Comelec’s main office in Intramuros, Manila to avoid a super-spreader event amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The Comelec has decided to hold the filing of COCs at one of the tents of Sofitel hotel in Pasay City.

There are a total of 18,180 elective positions at stake in the May 9, 2022 polls. (PNA)