First day of CoC filing 'successful' — Comelec

There was no untoward incident monitored during the first day of the certificate of candidacy (CoC) filing, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"So far, so good. Walang untoward incident (no untoward incident)," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia told reporters.

"Normal ang filing ng ating candidacy at sana ganoon lang at mapanatili natin hanggang otso ng Oktubre (The filing today is normal and I hope we can maintain it that way until the eighth of October)," he added.

However, Garcia said a regional office in Maguindanao del Norte requested for a satellite CoC filing.

"Yun kasing opisina namin doon ay nasa loob ng isang compound ng msimong isang local government and therefore, baka kasi yung sa palagay nilang kalaban hindi magpunta doon, matakot (Our office there is inside a local government compound and therefore, maybe some will think their enemies are there so they will hesitate to go there)," Garcia said.

"Kaya ang ginawa ng regional director namin, minarapat nga na magkaroon ng satellite filing site para may alternative (That's why our regional director thought it was just appropriate to have a satellite filing site as an alternative)," he added.

Garcia, however, assured that Comelec's security measures are enough to safeguard the public and aspirants.

The Comelec head said the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) made a commitment to the agency to deploy additional personnel when needed.

There are about 400 PNP personnel deployed around the Manila Hotel, according to Garcia.