The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it expects the 183 senatorial hopefuls in the 2025 midterm elections to be cut in half by the end of November after the poll body finishes screening all political aspirants considered as nuisance candidates.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said “whether the case was filed by a petitioner, a candidate, or the Comelec itself, we will resolve it at the en banc level so that they would not be able to run and that their names will not be included in the ballots.”
The poll body aims to resolve nuisance cases by November 30, before the printing of the official ballots for the May 2025 national and local elections starts in December.
Comelec said the eight-day filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 polls was “generally peaceful.”
Meanwhile, it observed fewer senatorial aspirants for the 2025 elections compared to 2022 and 2019: “There were 183 senatorial candidates who filed their COCs for the 2025 midterm elections, a sharp decline from 270 in 2022 and 185 in 2019.”
The poll chief said the final list of COCs filed throughout the eight-day filing period would be out by the third week of October, allowing the public to see and verify for themselves the personal details of local officials running for office in their areas.
“This is the first time because previously, voters cannot immediately discern the aspirants because we don’t give the COC to anyone,” Garcia said.
