A barangay captain gunning for a mayoral seat and three of his barangay councilors in Trinidad were among the first to submit their certificates of candidacy for the entire province on day one of the weeklong COC filing.

Poblacion, Trinidad Barangay Captain Johnny Orioque who is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition filed his COC for his mayoralty bid at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

“Among gihimo nga first day and first hour sa among pag file nga makita sa katawhan nga aduna kitay kalig-on ug kadasig sa pagpili isip mayor,” Orioque said.

Orioque’s COC was received by Trinidad election officer III Cecilia Balili who noted that the incumbent village chief was the first to file his candidacy in the town.

Current Trinidad Mayor Judith Cajes who has been dominant in previous mayoral elections is expected to seek reelection and be Orioque’s lone rival for the post.

“David versus Goliath kay atong nasayran nga naa tanan nilang makinarya kay sila man ang naa sa administrasyon unya ang kapikas sa atong mayor kanhi pod kongresista sa second district,” said Orioque.

As of 12 p,.m. on Thursday, no aspiring candidate has filed their COC at the provincial election office, said Malou Cempron, assistant to the provincial election supervisor.

According to Cempron, their office will receive COCs from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., starting Thursday until Wednesday next week.

It has been noted that most aspiring candidates for the 2019 midterm elections intend to file their COCs on October 16 and 17.

For his part, Gov. Edgar Chatto, who will be vying for a seat in Congress through the first district, said that he will file his COC on October 17. (A. Doydora)