Filing of COCs for Eleksyon 2025 starts

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) kicked off on Tuesday the week-long filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2025 May elections from October 1 to October 8, 2024, with more than 18,000 positions up for grabs. 

Aspirants vying for a total of 18,280 vacant posts are expected to troop to Comelec offices to file their COCs, formalizing their bids for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE). 

A breakdown of the elective positions to be voted for is as follows:  

• Senators — 12
• Party-list representatives — 63
• Member, house of representatives — 254
• Governor — 82
• Vice-governor — 82
• Member, Sangguniang Panlalawigan — 800
• City mayor — 149
• City vice-mayor — 149
• Member, Sangguniang Panlungsod — 1,690
• Municipal Mayor — 1,493
• Municipal Vice-Mayor — 1,493
• Member, Sangguniang Bayan — 11,948
• BARMM, Members of the Parliament — 25
• BARMM, Party Representatives — 40

Senatorial aspirants and party-list representatives will lodge their COCs and Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) at the Law Department Offsite Working Area at the Manila Hotel’s Tent City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Meanwhile, local Comelec offices will accept the COCs and CONAs of local aspirants. The venues for the filing can be accessed here.

(https://comelec.gov.ph/?r=2025NLE/PressReleases/ChangeOfVenueOfFilingOfCOC)

Under Resolution No. 11045, the Comelec banned the substitution due to withdrawal after the last day of filing COC on October 8. 

However, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said such substitution after COC filing would still be allowed if the candidate died or was disqualified. In such cases, the substitute should share the family name of the disqualified or deceased candidate or belong to the same political party.

Bets holding public appointive positions will be deemed resigned upon the filing of their COCs. Only four companions of aspirants will also be allowed inside the venue. 

Meanwhile, the period of filing of COCs for the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections was moved to November 4 to November 9 following a Supreme Court ruling excluding Sulu from the region. 

For the 2025 NLE, the Comelec earlier announced it would post all COCs of aspirants on its website ahead of the May polls. The poll body will likewise start posting the tentative list of candidates on October 29, 2024. —LDF, GMA Integrated News