Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (left), SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (MANILA BULLETIN, Facebook)

It is always wise to expect the unexpected during the last day of certificate of candidacy (COC) filing before the Commission on Elections (Comelec). 

This year’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 8 was no different, as surprise aspirants for the May 2025 mid-term elections troop to The Tent City of Manila Hotel to formalize their respective bids.

As of this posting, there have been persistent reports that former president Rodrigo Duterte will join the Senate race at the last minute.

This, as he would reportedly cancel his COC for mayor in Davao City.

He earlier filed his COC on Monday afternoon, Oct. 7, for the mayoralty seat together with incumbent Mayor Sebastian Duterte, who filed a COC for vice mayor.

Comelec spokesperson lawyer John Rex Laudiangco said that the withdrawal of a COC must be done personally. 

He also said that while there's a possibility that two COCs may be filed within the day, one of them must be withdrawn before the filing period ends, otherwise both will be deemed invalid. 

Quiboloy joins Senate race

In a surprising turn of events, Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy filed a COC for senator through an authorized representative, lawyer Mark Tolentino.

Tolentino refused to be interviewed by the media but gave a two-minute speech. He says that Quiboloy is running for senator because he wants to be part of the solution in the country.

Regarding Quiboloys' platforms should he get elected, his lawyer said that he will prioritize religious freedom, quality education, and eliminating corruption.

Quiboloy has been charged in the Philippines with qualified human trafficking and child abuse--both non-bailable offenses. In the United States (US), he had been charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.

No more backing out from Marcoleta 

SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta formalized his senatorial bid as he filed his COC on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Marcoleta was asked by reporters regarding the integrity of the upcoming 2025 national and local polls. To recall, he alleged that Comelec Chairman George Garcia opened a whopping 49 offshore accounts, some of which supposedly received $2.1 million or more than P120 million in deposits from Korean bank accounts between June 22, 2023 and March 22, 2024.

"First of all, dahil sa aking pagnanais na makapaglingkod sa mataas na lebel ng ating pamahalaan, napilitan po ako na magfile ng COC kagaya ng ginagawa ko sa araw na ito (due to my desire to serve in a higher level of our government, I was compelled to file my COC, which I did today). I don't want to fight two battles at the same time. Ang lahat po ng pangyayari ay may kanya-kanyang panahon. Yun lang aking masasabi sa isyung 'yan (Everything happens in its own time. That's all I can say about that issue)," he said.

For now, Marcoleta says he trusts that Comelec can conduct a clean, honest and credible election. 

"Ang pagfifile ko ng kandidatura ay katibayan ng aking pagtitiwala sa magagawa ng Comelec na magsagawa tayo ng isang malinis, isang tapat, at mapapanaligan na election sa ating bansa (My filing of candidacy is a testament to my trust in Comelec's ability to conduct a clean, honest, and credible election in our country.)," he added.

He also said that this time, he's fully prepared to run and will not back out.

The lawyer-solon campaigned for senator under the UniTeam banner in 2022, but withdrew from the Senate race just a few weeks away from the actual polls. 

"Sa ngayon ang aking paniwala ay ganap na po akong nakahanda...Wala na pong atrasan ito (From this day on, I firmly believe I am completely ready... There's no turning back now)," he said. 


Kiko Pangilinan seeks Senate return

Former senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan also filed his COC for senator under the Liberal Party (LP) for the 2025 mid-term elections. He was accompanied by his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta.

Pangilinan was supposed to run as senator in the 2022 presidential elections but he was tapped to be the running mate of then Vice President Leni Robredo, who ran as president. He lost to Vice President Sara Duterte.

Should he get elected, Pangilinan said that he would focus once again on bringing down the price of basic commodities include rices. He cited his accomplishment in 2014 wherein the rice inflation rate dropped from 15 percent to .8 percent within a year. 

"Handa nating isantabi ang pulitika upang tulungan ang gobyerno dahil walang kulay pulitika ang gutom (We're willing to set aside politics to help the government because hunger has no political color)," he said.

Pangilinan expressed his belief that the Philippines will never reach "developed nation" status and have sustainable economic growth if agriculture and fishery are left behind.

"Unless we address the gaps in the agriculture and fisheries sector, we will never reach developed nation status and we will be unable to achieve food security," he added.

'Bikoy', former COA exec want to become senators, too 

Peter Joemel Advincula, who admitted to be the hooded “Bikoy” in the 2019 “Ang Totoong Narcolist” viral videos, also filed his COC for senator.

These videos implicated several personalities and even members of the family of former president Duterte in the illegal drug trade.

Should he be elected as senator, Advincula said he would aim for a unification of the country's correction system. 

"Isa sa mga gagawin nating batas kung papalarin na magkaroon ng centralized na correction system ang ating bansa. Na kung saan ang mga nandun ay hindi idle kundi habang sila ay naroon talagang tunay na reporma, tunay na therapeutic community modality program ang kanilang napapasukan hanggang sila ay makalabas sa malayang lipunan (One of the laws I will author if I fortunately get elected is to have a centralized correction system. So that those who are there will not be idle but instead will truly undergo reform, a genuine therapeutic community modality program, until they are ready to re-enter society)," he said.

Advincula had been accused of making false statements under oath in 2019.  He was then convicted of perjury by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC).

Former Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza also filed her COC for senator.

Mendoza said she decided to run only last Sunday. If she gets elected, Mendoza said she plans to teach citizens about the sensitive process of the Philippine budget.

She said that the budget submitted by President Marcos was very far from the amount reflected in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

"Pero wala ho tayong marinig sa mamamayan. Bakit po? Malalaman lang po nila ang mga impormasyong ito kung maglaban-lban sila Kongreso o sa Senado (But we don't hear anything from the people. Why is that? They will only learn about this information if there's a debate about it in Congress or the Senate)," she said.
 

Laudiangco said that the entire past week of COC filing had been peaceful.