An electrician, a mechanical inventor, and a two-time defeated senatorial candidate were the first aspiring politicians to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs) on the first day of filing period for the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE).
Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said the poll body is expecting prominent politicians, celebrities and other individuals to file their COCs in the coming days, which will end on October 8.
Former presidential candidate Joey Montemayor was the first to file his COC at the Manila Hotel Tent. This is his third attempt to vie for a Senate seat. He will be running under the Partido Pederal ng Maharlika (PPM).
Other senatorial bets under their slate are Sonny Pimentel and PPM Secretary-General Orlando de Guzman.
Alexander Encarnacion, an electrician and a carpenter, submitted his COC with the promise of improving the lives of every Filipino people. However, he was not able to participate in any senatorial elections because he was always disqualified by the Comelec for being a nuisance candidate.
Incumbent AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee also filed his COC in a bid to take a Senate seat this coming 2025 NLE.
Others who also filed their COCs for senators were former teacher and scholarship coordinator Janice Padilla and Felipe Fernandez Montealto, Jr.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino also formalized his bid for a second term in the Senate. He is running under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas and was named among the 12 senatorial candidates endorsed by President Marcos in the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ coalition.
The first party-list to file a certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA) for the 2025 midterm elections was the Kabayan Party-list, led by incumbent Rep. Ron Salo.
Bayan Muna also filed its CONA to vie for seats in the House of Representatives after its decimation in the 2022 elections. It is fielding seasoned human rights lawyers Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, as first and second nominees, respectively.
Former representatives Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat are third and fourth nominees. Human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, an accredited assistant counsel of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is the fifth nominee.
Over 18,000 positions will be contested by candidates across the country in the May 2025 midterm polls, Garcia said.
In the national race, 12 senatorial seats, 63 seats for party-list representatives and 254 seats for congressional district representatives will be available.
For the local polls, there are 82 seats each for governor and vice governor; 800 seats for Sangguniang Panlalawigan members; 149 seats each for city mayor and city vice mayor; and 1,690 seats for Sangguniang Panlungsod members.
Similarly, there are 1,493 seats each for municipal mayor and municipal vice mayor; 11,948 seats for Sangguniang Bayan members; 25 seats for the members of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament and 40 seats for the BARMM party representatives.
Meanwhile, the campaign period for candidates for the House of Representatives, as well as parliamentary, provincial, city, and municipal offices will be from March 28, 2025 to May 10, 2025.
According to Garcia, the Comelec will accept all COCs that will be submitted to them within the filing period.
