MANILA, Philippines – With or without him, the final day of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 midterm elections was inevitably still about former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Despite his submission of COC for mayor in Davao City the previous day, his opponents remained on their toes waiting for Duterte’s move on the last day of COC filing, as he was known to surprise the general public. He formalized his bid for the presidency during the substitution deadline in November 2015, and for senator during the substitution deadline in November 2021 (although he withdrew a month later).
But the old man didn’t show up at the Manila Hotel Tent City — the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) filing venue for national elective aspirants — on Tuesday, October 8. Prior reports by some news outlets that he had withdrawn his mayoral bid in his hometown turned out to be a bust.
He flew from Davao to Manila though to meet with his supporters that day.
If anything, Duterte’s unpredictability helped transfer some of his clout to last-minute filers who are people he support.
The most surprising perhaps is Apollo Quiboloy, the doomsday preacher under police custody over charges of human trafficking and child abuse. An authorized representative who filed his papers with the Comelec evaded the Q&A but said in his speech that his client would protect freedom of religion if elected to the Senate.
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Television host Willie Revillame, whom Duterte has long convinced to gun for a Senate seat, finally bit the bullet on Tuesday. He said he still intends to return to his variety show even if he wins.
“I’m not a lawyer, I didn’t finish my studies, but the purpose of every senator, every public servant, [and every] local government leader [is that] you should have a good heart,” he added in Filipino.
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez, who also has Duterte’s backing, filed his candidacy for senator, vowing to be at the forefront of the fight against corruption.
Would that advocacy not be in conflict with his support for Duterte, whose administration was marred with corruption scandals?
“It was not former president Duterte who invented corruption,” Rodriguez told reporters outside the filing venue.
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Sagip Representative Rodante Marcoleta, a staunch defender of Vice President Sara Duterte in the House amid its investigation into her alleged misuse of public funds, also formalized his bid for the Senate, as well as Peter “Bikoy” Advincula, the flip-flopping whistleblower who initially tagged Duterte’s close allies to the illegal drug trade.
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Term-limited Valenzuela 2nd District Representative Eric Martinez, a member of Duterte’s party PDP, also made a surprise senatorial bid, but it is unclear if he’s running under the party’s banner or as an independent.
Other bets
On the other side of the fence, former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, accompanied by his wife Sharon Cuneta, formalized his comeback bid in the upper chamber. He’s running on a platform of food security, the same messaging from his failed 2022 vice presidential bid.
“We are ready to set politics aside to help the government because hunger knows no political color. The people are hungry for solutions,” Pangilinan said.
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Former Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza, an appointee of the late former president Benigno Aquino III, also filed her candidacy for senator.
“Let’s fight corruption and put an end to pork barrel funds. Many claim there is no pork barrel, but there is a lot of aid, and that is what’s being used during elections,” she said.
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In total, 184 certificates of candidacy were filed for the 2025 senatorial race, while 190 party-list groups submitted their list of nominees during the eight-day-long COC filing. – Rappler.com