The Commission on Elections (Comelec) targets to prune “nuisance candidates” from the current list of 183 senatorial aspirants for the 2025 Midterm elections, saying this number will be reduced to half by the end of November.
On Tuesday, Comelec chairman George Garcia said “whether the case was filed by a petitioner, a candidate, or the Comelec itself, we will resolve it at the en banc level so that they would not be able to run and that their names will not be included in the ballots.”
He explained that the poll body aims to trim down the list of candidates before the printing of official ballots starts in December.
Garcia characterized the just-concluded filing of certificates of candidacy as “generally peaceful,” but noted fewer people aspire to become senators.
“There were 183 senatorial candidates who filed their COCs for the 2025 midterm elections, a sharp decline from 270 in 2022 and 185 in 2019,” he added.
Garcia said the final list of COCs filed throughout the eight-day filing period would be out by the third week of October to allow the public to see and verify for themselves the personal details of local officials running for office in their areas.
“This is the first time because previously, voters cannot immediately discern the aspirants because we don’t give the COC to anyone,” he said.
He also assured the public that the Comelec will not disqualify an aspirant merely for reasons of poverty.
As this developed, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia and commissioned by the Stratbase Group showed that voters want senatorial candidates to put job creation at the top of their campaign platforms.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they believe that generating new employment opportunities is the most important issue that senatorial candidates should address.
Close behind in respondents’ list of priorities were growing the economy (44%), eliminating corruption (41%), better healthcare (33%) and improving education (29%).
The survey was conducted from September 6 to 13.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Comelec expects to halve 2025 poll bets by removing nuisance candidates.”
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