Manila, April 23 -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to require candidates to submit a copy of their birth certificates to be included in the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), and forthcoming elections.

According to Comelec Chairperson George Garcia, the purpose of the new requirement is to avoid cases of material misrepresentation and the possible disqualification of candidates.

"For everyone's information, we will be implementing one of the additional requirements for the filing of certificate of candidacy, we want to do for the 2028 national and local elections and the barangay and SK elections, requiring candidates to submit their certificate...