REELECTIONISTS, entertainers and a doctor were among the people running under prominent political parties for the 2019 polls during the first day of filing Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
As of 5:10 p.m. of Thursday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported 27 candidates have filed their COCs and 18 party-list members submitted their Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (Cona).
Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said based on their initial assessment, they ended the first day of the COC filing successfully and peacefully.
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Pilipino (PDP-Laban) President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III was the first to submit his COC accompanied by his fiancee, Kathryn Yu, on the third floor of the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila.
The incumbent 54-year-old senator filed his COC as early as possible to focus on his forthcoming wedding next week to Yu.
He said he decided to seek another term to complete his “unfinished business” in the Senate.
If he wins in the 2019 polls, it will be his second term.
Pimentel said another six or seven candidates affiliated with PDP-Laban are expected to file their COCs before the deadline on October 17, 2018.
He said PDP-Laban opted to run with an incomplete Senate slate since their candidates are those who are deemed by their party to have a high chance of winning.
“We can come up with two slates if we wanted to, but the PDP [officials] opted not to. We don’t want our young and upcoming leaders to start with an election loss,”
Pimentel said.
‘Anak’ also files COC
Popular folk-singer Ferdinand “Freddie” P. Aguilar claimed he was among the PDP-Laban senatorial bets. He was the third aspiring senator to file a COC.
The 65-year-old entertainer, who is known for his internationally acclaimed song “Anak,” said he opted to run because of the clamor from his supporters.
“After 40 years, I was finally convinced by ordinary citizens to run. They have been urging me to run for a long time already because of my advocacies through my songs,” he said.
Aguilar said he got the support of Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go in his candidacy.
If elected, he said he will push legislation for a federal form of government and jury-based judicial system.
Pimentel, meanwhile, said Aguilar is not among the six nominees from PDP-Laban.
He earlier said their candidates are Special Assistant to the President Bong Go; Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque Jr.; Bureau of Corrections Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa; Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Francis Tolentino; Makati First District Rep. Monsour del Rosario; and Maguindanao Second District Rep. Dong Mangudadatu.
Jimenez said they will not comment on the matter until the en banc decides on it.
Also filing his candidacy on Thursday was columnist doctor Willie T. Ong, 54, who is running under the Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
No doctor since Flavier
Ong said he decided to run due to lack of medical experts in the Senate since the time of the late senator Juan M. Flavier.
“There is a hole in the Senate. There has been without a doctor since Senator Flavier,” Ong said.
He will push for accessible medicine, medical operations, consultations and medical tests if he gets elected. Ong said he plans to primarily tap his 10 million followers in his social-media accounts to campaign nationwide.
Running for another known political group is former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri J. Colmenares.
He said he will push for the abolition of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act and the higher wages for labor groups.
This is his second bid in the Senate after losing in the 2016 elections.
Currently, he is the sole candidate running for the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives. Running for the Liberal Party is former Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) member Samira Gutoc-Tomawis.
The 43-year-old organizer said she decided to run as senator to push for the rights of women, indigenous peoples and refugees.
“I hope I will become the first Maranao woman senator of the Republic of the Philippines,” Tomawis said.
In the nineties, a Tausug leader, Santanina Rasul, was elected senator. Tomawis is confident she will be able to get the nod of the 1.8 million voters from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as one of the Muslim candidates.
Danilo Roleda, the 61-year-old current secretary-general of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), said he will also run in elections next year.
He said he opted to run to strengthen the Filipino people and improve the salaries of workers.
“We want to serve the entire country as your servant in order to promote, peace, harmony,
progress, economic development and sustainability,” Roleda said.
He said he, together with incumbent Sen. Nancy S. Binay, will run for the 2019 polls under the UNA senatorial slate.