Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Thursday, Oct. 3, that he expects the number of certificate of candidacy (COC) filers for the positions of senator and party-list representative to pick up during the weekend.

This, after the aspirants for these national positions in the upcoming May 2025 elections have been few and far in between on the third day of filing at the Tent City in Manila Hotel.

In a television interview on GMA News, Garcia says there are several factors that contribute to the aspirants' decision to file their COCs such as superstitions and strategy. 

"Yung iba naniniwala sa feng shui, yung iba naniniwala naman sa pamahiin, yung iba naman naghihintayan kung bakit hindi sila nakakapagfile ng candidacy o yung ginagawa nila panghuli sila upang malaman nila sino muna yung magfifile ng candidacy (Some people believe in feng shui, while others believe in superstitions. Meanwhile, some aspirants are waiting on others or intend to make their move after finding out who else has filed their candidacy first)," he said.

"But again expected po itong bilang na hindi ganun karami agad. Inaasahan natin ngayong araw na ito bigla itong tataas hanggang sa mga susunod na araw lalong lalo kung hindi man Sabado o Linggo mataas ang bilang ng mag-fifile ng candidacy (But again, we expect the number to not be so high right away. We are expecting the number to rise sharply today, even more so in the coming days, especially on Saturday or Sunday, the number of those filing their candidacy will be high)," he added.

He disclosed that nationwide, there have been 5,407 COC filers in the past two days.

As of this posting, only 14 have filed for national positions on the third day.

Doc Willie Ong aims for Senate seat 

An emotional Dr. Liza Ong--the wife of r. Willie Ong, who recently announced that he's been stricken by cancer--filed a COC for senator in his behalf on Thursday. 

Struggling to hold back tears, she presented her husband's COC to the media. The couple's legal counsel, lawyer Gilbert Lauengco answered queries from reporters.

“In so far as his health condition is concerned, he will be available to go back to the Philippines by [the] end of November and he will be able to physically campaign by December,” said Lauengco.

He also stated that while Ong's case was something that should be taken seriously, it was treatable.

"He plans to go back to do a limited physical campaign by probably December [to] January and then by February he will go to the areas which we feel that he will need to be physically present. But as always his core constituency is his online followers. So he will do as much as he did last time by going Facebook, Youtube, and social media also with a bit of physical campaigning," he added.

Go, Dela Rosa, eye Senate reelection; Phillip Salvador wants part of the action 

Reelectionist Senators Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, along with senatorial hopeful actor Phillip Salvador have also filed their respective COCs.

Dela Rosa vowed to continue his advocacies on public order, national defense, and security should he be reelected.

Asked if the so-called "demolition job" against the Dutertes and their allies could hurt his chances, Dela Rosa said it could go both ways.

"Puwede akong manalo, pwede akong matalo, dahil dyan sa gulo na yan but I am more inclined to believe sa mananalo tayo (I might win, or I might lose because of that thing but I am more inclined to believe that I'll win)," he said.

Asked if the looming action of the ICC would affect his Senate run, Dela Rosa said: "I'll leave it up to the people. The people know very well what's the real score." 

On the other hand, Go plans to continue and strengthen further his advocacies on health, food security, jobs, education, youth and sports development.

As chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Go said he would again prioritize expanding healthcare, particularly through the Malasakit Centers Act, which he principally authored and sponsored.

Like Dela Rosa, Go believes that former president Rodrigo Duterte's endorsement would work wonders for them.

"Yung aming mga programang isusulong ay naayon din po sa magagandang programa niya noon (Our programs that we will be pushing forward are actually in line with his good programs from before)," he said of the ex-president.

For his part, Salvador said that he would advocate for peace and order while placing an emphasis on drug rehabilitation. He expressed his belief that drug offenders deserve another chance.

He also expressed his belief that the previous administration's drug war was not wrong.

"Yun lamang pong nasa aking puso at nasa aking isipan na nakikita ko't nalalaman ko (It's what's in my heart and on my mind, based on what I see and know)," the action movie star said, when asked what he has to offer as senator.

Meanwhile, Senator Robinhood Padilla said in an interview on the sidelines of the COC filing that he's still convincing ex-president Duterte to run for senator.

If he can't, then one of Duterte's children might be swayed into running.

More party-list groups file their Con-Can

Senator Grace Poe accompanied her son and chief of staff, Brian Poe Llamanzares, in the filing of the certificate of nomination-certificate of acceptance of nomination (CON-CAN), being the first nominee of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list.

Poe says she wholeheartedly supports Llamanzares' nomination to FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list--a group that the latter has led since 2013.

"Brian has diligently studied to learn the ropes of public service and legislation. His many years of work as my chief of staff made him hit the ground running," she said.

"Alam naman natin si FPJ mabait, matapang, pero hindi mayabang at higit sa lahat ay tumutulong. So yun ang naging nakatatak sa aking isipan, sa aking trabaho. Sana ngayon ay pagtiwalaan din natin ang FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list kung saan unang nominado ang aking anak na si Brian (We all know FPJ is kind, brave but not arrogant, and above all, he helps. That's what has stayed in my mind, in my work. I hope now we can also trust the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list, where my son Brian is the first nominee)," she added.

Using the acronym of the late action star FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.), Llamanzares said that the party-list would focus on food, progress, and justice.

"Yung FPJ, syempre, pangalan ng aking lolo FPJ. Pero syempre ang FPJ dito sa partido namin (FPJ is the name of my grandfather. But here, in our political party), FPJ stands for stands for food, progress, at justice," he said. 

"Yung unang legislative agenda namin ay syempre yung mga naging legislative agenda ng aking ina — may mga naging batas na tulad ng national feeding program na kailangan pa nating amyendahan, para lahat ng mga kabataan sa grade school hanggang high school ay magkaroon ng sapat na pagkain sa kanilang eskwelahan (Our first legislative agenda will, of course, be the legislative agendas that my mother worked on — like the national feeding program, which needs to be amended so that all grade school and high school students have access to adequate nutrition in their schools)," he said.

With Brian in FPJ Panday Bayanihan are Mark Patron and Hiyas Dolor as its second and third nominees, respectively.

Patron is the son of San Jose, Batangas Mayor Ben Patron while Dolor is the wife of Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor.

Other party-list groups that filed Wednesday 1 Agila, Swerte Party-list, Barangay Health Wellness Party-list, and Solid North Party-list.