Day 2 of COC filing: Bets avoid ‘13’

MANILA, Philippines - What’s in a date? 

For many who wish to run in the May 9, 2016 elections, the date could spell their defeat or victory.

At the main office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at Palacio del Gobernador building in Intramuros, Manila, business was slow yesterday, the second day of the weeklong filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs).  

The day ended with only 15 COCs filed for president, four for vice president and nine for senators.  

Last Monday was the busiest with 22 aspirants filing for president, three for vice president and 16 for senators.

For the party-list, only three groups submitted the lists of their nominees, much lower than the 20 organizations that filed lists on Monday.

A Comelec insider said the number of filers during the 13th is low because of the impression that the number is unlucky.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal noted there are candidates who timed significant events in their lives, like filing COCs, with their lucky number, color, time and even companions.

“I do not believe in that, personally. But it happens. Some would consult their feng shui (geomancy) before doing anything. At the same time, they avoid numbers or anything they think is unlucky for them,” he added.     

According to John Rex Laudiangco, chief of the Legal Opinion and Research Division of the Comelec Law Department and supervising officer-in-charge for party-list, the low turnout yesterday could also be attributed to the Filipinos’ habit of doing things at the last minute.

“Based on experience, they come on the last day, or second to the last day. One reason is, maybe since they are party-list with a minimum of five nominees, they want to all come here at the same time,” he said in Filipino.

Laudiangco, however, expressed hope that party-list groups will do away with their buzzer-beating habit since they expect 244 organizations to submit their list of nominees.

“Our rule is receiving from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those who will be here before 5 p.m., we have to accept (their lists). To facilitate the volume, we at the Law Department will increase our receiving tables. Now we have four and we may be increasing to 10. We also asked the Clerk of the Commission to increase their receiving tables,” he added.