Barangay, SK bets wait for ‘lucky numbers’ before filing COCs

BUGALLON, Pangasinan – Candidates for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Pangasinan are taking their time before filing their certificates of candidacy (COC) as they are waiting for good luck brought by feng shui for the perceived lucky days on Oct. 8 or 18 to ensure their victory.

Lawyer Reddy Balarbar, provincial election supervisor, told The STAR yesterday that only few have filed their COCs among bets in the 44 towns and four cities in the province for the Oct. 29 barangay and SK polls.

Though he said filing of COCs started Sept. 29 and ends on Oct. 18, Balarbar said those seeking re-elections as well as the wannabes are not yet aggressive in their intention to file their candidacies. “They are waiting possibly for Oct. 8 or 18 which are believed to be lucky numbers because they are written with upward strokes and thus are said to bring good luck,” he said.

“So far, everything is going on smoothly in Pangasinan. No untoward incident has happened yet,” Balarbar said. He said Pangasinan has about 1.3 million voters, of which more than 100,000 are SK voters.

Moreover, Mayor Rodrigo Orduña of this town also told local reporters yesterday that his barangay and SK candidates from the 24 barnagays are also waiting for Oct. 8 and 18 to file their COCs.

“They said number eight brings good luck,” Orduña said.

As his help to the candidates, Orduña shoulders from his personal funds the fees for the drug test for the candidates. Each laboratory test for each candidate costs P175. Also, he said he is also signing the copies of the COCs of each candidate in lieu of the signature of a notary public because mayors are allowed to do so under the law. This will again save the candidates money to spend for notary public, he said.

Orduña, himself a three-term barangay captain and a three-term president of the Liga ng mga Barangay before he became mayor, said re-electionists have nothing to worry about because if they did their assignments well, people will definitely vote for them again.

Additionally, Board Member Amadeo Espino Jr, provincial president of the Liga ng mga Barangay, told The STAR in a separate interview that so far first time candidates are the ones aggressive in filing their COCs. The old timers, he added, are just taking things lightly as they are ready to face the coming barangay and SK polls.