THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared as successful Day 1 of the filing period for the Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for the May 2019 polls after getting 27 applicants.
In addition, 18 party-list organizations have also filed their lists of nominees on the first day.
“Overall, we can declare as successful the first day of COC filing as we received no reports of major problems. But these are still just based on initial impressions and field reports,” said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in a media briefing.
“We hope this will constitute a trend in the remaining days,” he added.
Aside from Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, singer Freddie Aguilar filed his COC also under the administration’s PDP-Laban party.
Others who filed their COCs after being nominated by their political parties are Willie Ong of the Lakas CMD; Neri Colmenares of Makabayan Party; Danilo Roleda of the United Nationalist Alliance; and Samira Gutoc of the Liberal Party.
The Labor Party Philippines (LPP), meanwhile, nominated four bets, namely Melchor Chavez, Ibrahim Albani, Abner Afuang, and Gerald Arcega.
Newly-accredited political party, Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), has three candidates, namely Vicente Avena, Princess Nur-Ana Sahidulla, and Antonio Valdes.
Fourteen independent candidates also filed their COCs, led by perennial filers Daniel Magtira, and King Salam Tageam. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)