Comelec on the first day of COC filing: 'So far, so good'

No untoward incidents have been monitored so far during the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy for aspiring senators and party-list representatives, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia said Tuesday.

In an ambush interview, Garcia said that the COC filing has been quite slow this morning as some contenders were still keeping watch of the situation, while others decided to just file on another day.

“Sa monitoring natin sa buong NCR, sa ibang parte ng ating bansa, maayos ang nagiging filing ng [COC],” the poll chairperson told reporters while assessing the situation at the Manila Hotel’s Tent City.

(The COC filing in the entire NCR and other parts of the country has been going well, based on our monitoring.)

“So far napakaayos kasi kahit paano, ang mga supporters, lalo dito sa atin, sa labas ng Manila Hotel, ay pinapanatili nila ang kaayusan, ang kanilang linya. At the same time wala naman ang magugulo o ‘yung nagkaroon ng initan,” he added.

(So far, it's very orderly because even the supporters outside the Manila Hotel maintain order and keep in line. None of them has gotten into trouble.)

READ: LIVE UPDATES: Filing of COCs for Eleksyon 2025 - Day 1

Garcia also assured that the security measures in areas like Metro Manila, Northern Luzon, even in Bangsamoro were enough, but the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have also committed to provide additional personnel if needed.

While there are no major threats monitored so far, he said that the Comelec also allowed the setting up of a satellite venue for the COC filing in Maguindanao del Norte to avoid any unlikely incidents to happen.

“Alam kasi namin na napaka-init ng labanan sa area na ‘yan at sa isang compound ng opisina namin, baka magkaroon ng hesitation na mag-file ng candidacy. Kaya nag-open kami ng isang alternatibo na satellite venue of filing ng candidacy,” Garcia said.

(We know that the competition is intense in that area and there might be hesitation to file candidacy in our office. So we have opened an alternative satellite venue of filing candidacy.)

The filing of COCs will run from October 1 to 8, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Among those who filed their certificates of candidacy on Tuesday are:

For senator

• David Chan, sustainability advocate
• Alexander Encarnacion, electrician-carpenter
• Wilbert Lee, incumbent Agri party-list representative
• Felipe Fernandez Montealto Jr., 44, who dubbed himself the "youngest senatorial aspirant"
• Joey Montemayor, former presidential candidate
• Janice Padilla, former teacher and scholarship coordinator
• Francis Tolentino, incumbent senator

For party-list

• Bumbero ng Pilipinas
• Kabayan

For House seat

• Martin Romualdez, incumbent Speaker and Leyte representative

For local positions

• Nancy Binay - incumbent senator, for Makati mayor
• Joey Salceda - incumbent Albay representative, for Albay governor
   

No untoward incidents on Day 1

During a 5 p.m. press briefing, Garcia said there were no untoward incidents across the country that hampered the senatorial aspirants and party-lists from filing their COCs and certificates of nomination and acceptance (CONA), as the first of the week-long COC filing concluded.

“So far, sa buong bansa,  ayon sa monitoring ng aming operation center, wala pong kahit isang untoward incident na nangyari na nadisturb yung filing na ating candidacy,” Garcia said.

(So far, across the country, based on the monitoring of our operation center, there has been no untoward incident that disturbed the filing of candidacy.) —KG/RF, GMA Integrated News