THE filing of certificates of candidacy (CoCs) in the December 9 special poll in the Third District of Negros Oriental starts today, November 6, with the widow of slain provincial governor Roel Degamo and the younger brother of expelled congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. possibly facing off for the vacant position.

Teves Jr., who is being tagged as the alleged mastermind in the assassination of Degamo and nine others on March 4, was officially removed by the House of Representatives on August 16 on several grounds, including abandonment of public office and indecent behavior.