LAOAG CITY – The heavy rains and winds brought by Super Typhoon Julian on Tuesday did not deter Ilocos Norte officials and aspirants from filing their certificate of candidacy (COC) on the first day of applications.
Among the first to arrive at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Provincial Office were Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc, her aunt, Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, and incumbent members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board).
The incumbent provincial officials under Manotoc’s team are seeking for re-election in the 2025 midterm polls.
In Batac City, among the first to file COC was retired provincial agriculturist Norma Lagmay of Barangay Camandingan, who is vying for mayoralty position.
Running as an independent candidate, Lagmay said, Batac City can become more progressive with a united citizenry to determine relevant solutions to problems.
“If you are a positive thinker, you must always be the first on the line,” she said in a media interview.
“For 44 years that I had been in government service, I know well that it is done with dedication, honesty, and integrity,” she added.
Meanwhile, there were 4,450 voters who registered in this city from mid-August until the deadline on Sept. 30.
Laoag City election officer Julius Harvey Balbas, in a media interview, said the registrants include 53 voters from Metro Manila, Tacloban, Nueva Ecija, Abra, Pangasinan, and Ilocos Sur who availed of the Comelec’s Register Anywhere Program (RAP).
He said registered voters for the whole province to date is around 430,634.
“The final number of registered voters will be determined by Oct. 15 as many have transferred from other municipalities and we also have data on deaths,” he said.
Security around the Comelec areas during the weeklong COC filing has been strengthened, with checkpoints and additional deployment in place.
Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Director Police Colonel Frederick Obar said the chiefs of police in 22 towns and two cities, as well as the mobile force company, have been directed to ensure security especially in next year’s mid-term polls. (PNA)
