The Palacio del Gobernador, which houses the Commission on Elections (Comelec) (MANILA BULLETIN)

A total of 183 Filipinos have filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs), while 190 organizations have submitted their respective Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) after the week-long filing of these pertinent documents that would qualify them for inclusion in the May 12, 2025 mid-term elections.

This was disclosed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) after the filing of the COCs and CONAs was held at The Manila Hotel Tent City from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8. The poll agency is expected to release the list of qualified candidates on Dec. 13.

The Comelec reported on Wednesday, Oct. 9, that the number of senatorial candidates for the 2025 midterm elections increased from the 153 aspirants, who applied to run in the 2019 elections, and 176 aspirants in the 2022 elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia noted that the COC filers for the Senate were originally 184, but this went down by one following the withdrawal of former defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Lorenzana had earlier filed his COC on Monday, but later withdrew, citing no reason.

For party-list groups, Comelec reported that 190 organizations submitted their list of 10 nominees to go with their respective CONAs. This was a significant decrease from the previous elections where 270 party-list groups vied for seats in the House of Representatives.

Garcia said the poll body had expected at least 155 party-lists to participate in the May 2025 polls. This number would have been comprised of 113 existing party-lists and 42 newly-accredited groups. 

“Yung iba don wala naman silang accreditation sa atin, ‘yung kanilang mga petitions ay dinismissed, hindi napagbigyan, kahit ‘yung kanilang motion for reconsideration ay hindi rin napagbigyan subalit minarapat nila na mag-file pa rin ng [CONA],” he said in a press briefing.

(Some of them don't have accreditation with us, their petitions were dismissed, not granted, and even their motions for reconsideration were denied. Yet, they still decided to file a CONA.)

The Comelec chief said these unaccredited groups submitted their CONAs as part of their legal strategy to “remedy” their status before the Supreme Court (SC).

By the numbers

A total of 18,280 posts are going to be up for grabs in next year’s national and local elections, including the parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

For the entire Philippines, 43,033 have filed their COCs and CONAs before the Comelec.

Of this number, 33,652 are male, making up 78.20 percent. Meanwhile, there are 9,381 female aspirants, making up 21.80 percent.

Perpetual disqualification 

The names of the candidates that will be printed on the ballots for next year’s elections will still be decided by the poll agency, as it still has to review the roster and weed out those which will be deemed "nuisance" candidates.

The poll body’s law department will start evaluating if any of the candidates are facing perpetual disqualification to hold public office from the Office of the Ombudsman.

According to Garcia, the Comelec had earlier issued a resolution stating that it “will motu proprio cancel the candidacy of individuals” dealing with such an issue.

He said the Ombudsman periodically submits a list of individuals dismissed from service and are facing perpetual disqualification to hold public office to the Comelec.

Amid concerns from election groups regarding this rule, Garcia said they based it on Republic Act (RA) 6770, or the Ombudsman Act, which states that the “decision of the Office of the Ombudsman is executory although it is not final”.

“Bilang pagkilala sa kapangyarihan ng Office of the Ombudsman, kaya naman ang iyong komisyon ay tumatalima sa probisyon na yan ng ating batas,” he added.

(In recognition of the power of the Office of the Ombudsman, the commission is complying with that provision of our law.)

‘Don’t jump to conclusions’

During the week-long filing of COCs, several aspirants took to the stage to condemn the Comelec for declaring them nuisance candidates because of their impoverished status.

Garcia agreed with this sentiment, as he instructed the Comelec “to not jump to the conclusion” in screening candidates.

He said evaluating a candidate based on their personal appearance and COC were not enough, stressing the need for a more thorough background check.

“Hindi dapat nahahamak ang pagkatao ng isang tao dahil sa kawalan ng pera. At ‘yung pagkakataon na maglingkod, pare-parehas naman na may kagustuhang maglingkod sa ating bayan,” the Comelec chairman said.

(A person's dignity should not be diminished due to a lack of money. And when it comes to serving, everyone has the same desire to serve our country.)

“We will venture on other modes of disqualifying certain candidates,” he added.

Garcia said it does not matter if ballots come 2025 are lengthy because of the number of candidates, “quality” and “a desire to really run” is what matters,” he emphasized.