Section 26Sec./Art. 26

Certificate of Candidacy. - No person shall be eligible unless, within the time fixed by law, he files a sworn certificate of candidacy stating in said certificate that he announces his candidacy for the office mentioned therein and that he is eligible for the office; the name of the political party or parties in coalition to which he belongs, if he belongs to any; his profession or occupation; his civil status, and if married, the full name of his or her spouse; his age which in the case of candidates for provincial, sub-provincial, city, municipal or municipal district offices must at least be twenty-three years and the date of birth; his residence; his post-office address for all election purposes; that he will support and defend the Constitution of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that he will obey the laws, legal orders, and decrees promulgated by its duly constituted authorities; that the obligation imposed by his oath is assumed voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that the facts stated in the certificate of candidacy are true to the best of his knowledge: Provided, That a candidate may use in his certificate of candidacy the name by which he has been baptized, or the name registered in the office of the local civil registrar, or any other name allowed under the provisions of existing law.

He may also include one nickname or stage name by which he is generally or popularly known in the locality.

The certificate of candidacy shall likewise state his gross income, including deductions and exemptions therefrom and that he has paid his income taxes as assessed for the last two years immediately preceding the election, including the receipt numbers and places of such payments, unless the candidate was exempt from paying income taxes, or his tax obligations are pending final determination, in which case he shall so state in his certificate of candidacy; and shall furthermore contain a waiver of the privilege from public disclosure of his income tax return and tax census statement for the said two-year period, except financial statements attached thereto, said waiver to be effective only during the period of his candidacy.

No other person shall be eligible for more than one office to be filled in the same election, and if he files his certificate of candidacy for more than one office, he shall not be eligible for any of them. However, before the expiration of the period fixed by law for filing certificates of candidacy, the candidate filing several individual certificates of candidacy may declare under oath the office for which he desires to be eligible and cancel the certificate or certificates of candidacy for other office or offices, otherwise all the individual certificates of candidacy which he has filed shall be cancelled.