MANILA, Philippines – A total of 28 aspirants filed Certificates of Candidacies (COCs) at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the 2nd day of the weeklong filing on Tuesday, October 13.
Among them are 15 aspiring candidates for president, 4 for vice president, and 9 for the Senate.
This brings the total number of COC filers for national positions in the 2016 elections to 37 for president, 7 for vice president, and 25 for senator since Monday.
Cousins Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr and Ferdinand Martin Romualdez were among those who trooped to the Comelec office in Intramuros on Tuesday. They are running for vice president and senator, respectively.
Senator Marcos filed his certificate past 1 pm Tuesday, and only gave a short speech before he left the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila.
"Maraming-maraming salamat sa inyong interes. Magfi-file pa lang, nandito na kayong lahat (Many thanks for your interest. I am just about to file my candidacy and you are all here already)," he said.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Senator Bongbong Marcos arrives in Comelec to file his COC for vice president <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phvote?src=hash">#phvote</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rappler?src=hash">#rappler</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rstream?src=hash">#rstream</a> <a href="http://t.co/qSyXiJyB35">pic.twitter.com/qSyXiJyB35</a></p>— Pia Ranada (@piaranada) <a href="https://twitter.com/piaranada/status/653806769173430272">October 13, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Marcos, the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is one of the 3 senators from the Nacionalista Party eyeing the vice presidency. (READ: 9 things to know about Bongbong Marcos)
Leyte 1st District Representative Romualdez was the first on Tuesday to file his COC for senator. He is running under the Lakas-CMD party.
Romualdez did not give a speech. He immediately left the press conference area to join his supporters outside the Comelec building.
Current, ex-party-list reps for Senator
Current and former party-list representatives also filed their COCs for senator on Tuesday.
ACT-CIS party list representative Samuel Pagdilao filed his certificate past 2pm a few hours after declaring his senatorial bid at the University of the Philippines' Bahay ng Alumni.
Pagdilao, a police officer for over 37 years, said peace and order will be on top of his legislative agenda.
"Ito po yung aking ino-offer sa ating mamamayan. Ako po si Samuel Pagdilao; Kay Sir Chief, safe ka! (This is what I can offer to our citizens. I am Samuel Pagdilao; With Sir Chief, you're safe!)," he said, referring to the character of Richard Yap in the popular daytime television drama, Be Careful With My Heart.
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ACT-CIS submitted its accreditation requirements on Monday, October 12 to join the party-list polls.
Godofredo Arquiza of the Senior Citizens party list is also running for senator. He was the group's representative in Congress from 2007 to 2013.
The party list won in the 2013 elections, but an ongoing dispute over their Congress seats leaves the posts unfilled.
Arquiza vowed to continue his advocacies for the elderly in the Senate.
'Colorful, unique' aspirants
The rest of the aspirants for national positions were a mix of colorful and unique personalities.
Less than an hour before Day 2 came to a close, the Philippine Green Republican Party led by its presidential bet Leo Cadion arrived to file their COCs for the 2016 elections
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All 4 filers are from the Philippine Green Republican Party (PGRP). <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PHvote?src=hash">#PHvote</a> <a href="http://t.co/uZXKfHRSss">pic.twitter.com/uZXKfHRSss</a></p>— Michael Bueza (@mikebueza) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikebueza/status/653857456917905408">October 13, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Over the course of the day, the COC filers included the following aspirants:
- Marita Arilla is running for president to push for an "absolute monarchy" in the Philippines
- Alfredo Tindugan is gunning for the presidency with a "divine government" platform
- Retired police officer Romeo Plasquita is a presidential aspirant who aired his grievances over the "5 years of unpaid retirement pay"
- Nid Anima is running for vice president based on the nomination of the so-called "Aasenso Sabungero" party list
- Michael Arqueza of Quezon City, 34, did not meet the age requirement to run for President, and
- Chemical engineer Victor Quijano from Cebu is a senatorial bet who advocates a federal form of government
The Comelec said it is their "ministerial duty" to accept all COCs filed before them. But Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista said that the poll body will soon screen these aspirants to determine whether or not they are qualified to run the posts they're eyeing. (READ: Comelec on 'nuisance' bets: Listen before you judge)
Candidates who will be declared "nuisance" bets will not be included in the official list of candidates.
The filing of COCs for national and local posts will last until Friday, October 16. – Rappler.com