ILOILO City – A total of 364 aspirants have so far filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) for the upcoming May 12, 2025 midterm elections in the city and province of Iloilo from October 1 to 5, data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Iloilo Province showed.
Atty. Dennis Ausan, Comelec Region 6 director, said a surge of aspirants is anticipated particularly today and tomorrow, after observing a quiet start in the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, and Guimaras, including Iloilo City.
Out of the 364 candidates who have so far filed COCs, 361 are from the province while three hail from the city.
In the provincial breakdown, candidates have filed for various positions including two for vice governor, five for board member, four for congressman, 31 for municipal mayor, 30 for municipal vice mayor, and 289 for Sangguniang Bayan member.
Notably, no aspirants have yet filed for the governor’s position.
However, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is expected to submit his COC this morning, October 7, along with his running mate, Mayor Nathalie Ann Debuque of Anilao town.
In Iloilo City, thus far, only three COCs have been filed. These included one for congressman and three for Sangguniang Panlungsod members.
An influx of candidates from the city is expected from today to October 8, the final two days for filing COCs.
The designated venues for the filing are the third floor of Robinsons Place Iloilo Cinema on Quezon Street for Iloilo City, and the VIP Lounge on the ground floor of Festive Walk Mall in the Mandurriao district for the province.
To ensure a smooth and swift COC filing process in the last two days, Ausan advises aspirants to make sure that the COC forms are correctly filled out and complete with all documentary requirements such as a recent passport-size ID photo with a documentary stamp, notarization by a lawyer, and a signature.
Additionally, a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) attached to the COC is required for aspirants belonging to a duly registered political party or coalition.
Previously, Ausan noted that many aspirants faced issues during the filing due to incomplete information on the form, incorrect forms, missing documentary stamps, lack of notarization, or missing signatures, causing delays especially during the last hours of the filing period./PN
