A teacher, a former “husband” of Kris Aquino, a security guard, and a vlogger were among the first to step into the spotlight, filing certificates of candidacy for national positions at the Manila Hotel Tent City on Tuesday.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said the first day of filing for certificates of candidacy for 18,000 national and local positions went smoothly and without incident.

“So far, so good; there have been no untoward incidents,” Garcia told reporters. “The filing of candidacies is normal, and I hope we can maintain this until 8 October.”

Garcia, however, mentioned a regional office in Maguindanao del Norte that requested a satellite location for filing.

“Our office there is located within a local government compound, which may deter some from going there for fear of encountering their rivals,” Garcia said. “That’s why our regional director decided it was appropriate to establish a satellite filing site as an alternative.”

Some aspirants seized the occasion to thrust themselves into the limelight.

Janice Padilla, a teacher, bared her reason for running for a Senate seat in next year’s midterm polls.

“My main point for running for senator [is] just to serve God, people, community, and nation,” Padilla said in her filing speech.

This is Padilla’s first run for office. If elected, she said she would immediately seek a wage hike for her fellow teachers.

“Many teachers are really struggling, so their salaries need to be higher,” she said.

“Specially now that prices of goods are going up. So what should the government do? There should be an automatic law that states that wages should also increase,” she added.

Daniel Magtira, who claimed to be Kris Aquino’s former husband but now hopes to marry Imee Marcos, announced his presence by serenading the media.

Magtira was previously declared a nuisance candidate by the Comelec, but he said that if he is barred from running for senator this time he would appeal the disqualification through the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Phil de los Reyes, a security guard from Bantayan Island, Cebu, said he was just as qualified as anyone to run for senator.

“I can also visit anywhere in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” De los Reyes said in the speech he delivered in Filipino.

“Just don’t belittle anyone because you don’t know what they are capable of,” he added.

In 2021, he was also declared a nuisance candidate by the Comelec.

Vlogger Mark Gamboa, who has 100,000 followers on social media, is also running for senator.

Gamboa said he will represent his fellow content creators, freelancers, and live sellers.

A first-timer in national politics, Gamboa said he will fight fake news by creating a fake news monitoring office that will operate 24/7.

“This is one of the problems we are facing on social media,” he noted.