COC filers for president in 2022 polls down from record-high number in 2016

Ninety-seven Filipinos aspiring to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte submitted their certificates of the candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the week-long COC filing from October 1 to 8, the poll body reported on Friday, October 8.

That number was a decrease from the record-high 130 COC filers for president in the 2016 elections.

Among the notable names who threw their hat in the 2022 presidential race include:

Vice President Leni Robredo,
Senator Manny Pacquiao,
Senator Ping Lacson,
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa,
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno,
former senator and dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.,
former presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella,
former defense chief Norberto Gonzales,
and labor leader Leody De Guzman.

There were 29 people who filed their COC for vice president, an increase from the 19 aspirants during the 2015 COC filing.

Notable aspirants in the lineup include:

Senate President Vicente Sotto III,
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go,
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan,
House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza,
and physician Willie Ong.

There were also 176 senatorial aspirants who filed their COCs, and 270 party-list groups that submitted their list of nominees.

Here’s the final tally of COC filers for local posts:

House district representative: 733
governor: 281
vice governor: 226
board member: 1,951
mayor: 4,486
vice mayor: 3,968
councilor: 35,636

In the next few weeks, the poll body will screen the aspirants to determine “nuisance candidates” who must be removed from the list.

The Omnibus Election Code describes nuisance candidates as those who are trying to “put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office.”

The Comelec, however, has reiterated that nothing is set in stone until the November 15 substitution deadline.

This year’s COC filing has seen a change in tradition due to strict COVID-19 protocols. In past election cycles, the week-long event was usually festive and a massive spectacle.

“In general, we can say the conduct of the filing of COCs has been successful across the country even amid the pandemic,” Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas said in Filipino. – Rappler.com