‘183 Senate aspirants may be pruned to 66’

MANILA, Philippines — Sixty-six out of the 183 senatorial aspirants who filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) are most likely to be considered as legitimate candidates whose names are to be included in the ballot, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared yesterday.

“We are expecting that by Wednesday, our law department can finally submit to the Comelec en banc their proposed recommendation as to who will be retained, removed and declared nuisance (candidates),” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said.

He added that the remaining 117 senatorial aspirants will still undergo further evaluation by the commission.

“For those remaining, they are still undergoing reviews so that we will know who can join the 66 and who cannot,” said Garcia.

The Comelec has received a total of 43,033 COCs from those vying for national and local positions nationwide.

Of those who submitted their COC, 183 are running for senator while 190 are seeking a party-list seat.

Garcia said that within two to three weeks following the COC filing period, the Comelec will be posting on its website the list of all those who filed their COC for the 2025 elections for public scrutiny.

The Comelec said it is expected to come out with the official list of candidates before the end of November.