Photo courtesy of COMELEC.
QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The Commission on Elections described the first day of filing certificates of candidacy (COC) for aspirants in the May 12, 2025, elections as orderly.
Comelec chairman George Garcia said during a briefing for the media held today, October 1, at the Manila Hotel Tent, “Sa aming monitoring center, sa buong NCR [National Capital Region], sa ibang parte ng ating bansa, maayos ang nagiging filing ng [COC].”
(In our monitoring, in the entire NCR, in other parts of the country, the filing has been orderly.)
The Comelec has set October 1 to October 8 as the period for COC filing.
“So far napakaayos kasi kahit paano, ang mga supporters, lalo dito sa atin, sa labas ng Manila Hotel, ay pinapanatili nila ang kaayusan, ang kanilang linya. At the same time wala naman ang magugulo o ‘yung nagkaroon ng initan,” he added.
(So far, it’s very orderly, even the supporters especially here outside the Manila Hotel maintain order and keep in line. No has gotten into trouble or misunderstanding.)
“Medyo mabilis po ngayon ang ating pagproseso ng COC filing, kasi ay ating kinampanya na bago sila pumunta ay dapat kumpleto na ang kanilang mga dokumento,” Garcia further said.
(We’re quite faster now in processing of the COC filing, because we campaigned that before they [aspirants] come here, they should bring complete documents already.)
He noted however that the arrival of aspirants filing their COCs is a bit slow. He said this may be because it’s the first day, and opponents are watching each other’s moves. Others might also be planning to file tomorrow or in other days, he added.
Meanwhile, the Comelec chief assured that the security measures in areas like Metro Manila, Northern Luzon, even in Bangsamoro were enough.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), he said, have also committed to provide additional personnel if needed.
He added that the Comelec also allowed the setting up of a satellite venue for the COC filing in Maguindanao del Norte to avoid any unlikely incidents to happen.
The Comelec has said that there are 18,272 national and local posts up for grabs in the May 12, 2025 elections.
There are 12 seats for senators and 254 for members of the House of Representatives, in addition to 63 for party list seats. (PIA DMD)
