The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) are crafting the guidelines on how the voting process would be conducted in next year’s elections amid the pandemic.

Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said on Saturday the guideline is expected to be released by October 1,2021.

“The Comelec is in coordination with the IATF in the ongoing drafting of the voting guidelines for the 2022 elections.” she said in a Facebook post.

Likewise, Guanzon reminded aspirants in next year’s elections that their Certificate of Candidacy (COC) must be filed personally.

“The COC shall be filed by the aspirant personally or through an authorized representative with a sworn and signed Authority to File the COC,” reads Resolution 10717 promulgated on August 18.

“No COC filed by mail, electronic mail, or facsimile shall be accepted. No filing fee shall be imposed for the filing of the COC,” it added.

The period for the filing of COC will be from October 1 to 8.

In Resolution 10717 released on Friday, the poll body also required candidates for president, vice president, and senator to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken within the past 24 hours before the filing of COC at its main office in Manila.

Earlier, The Comelec announce it will not extend the deadline for voter registration, set until Sept. 30, despite calls from various sectors who have cited over 100 days lost in the registration period due to lockdowns in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Citing operational concerns, particularly with the timeline associated with the preparations for the 2022 elections, the Commission en banc voted, by majority vote, not to extend the registration period,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said.

As a compromise, the poll body will be extending registration hours, and its local offices will be open on Saturdays and holidays, with 43 days remaining before the deadline.

“However, the commission did unanimously approve a package of modifications that was proposed by the Comelec Election and Barangay Affairs Department that would allow people to register even on Saturdays and holidays for the remainder of the registration period,” said Jimenez.

The Comelec has surpassed its goal of achieving 4 million new voters, The country is “on track” to have a total of 61 million voters in next year’s polls, he added.