‘… now that every candidate has passed his papers, let’s take time to assess each and every one of them before we commit our votes…’
AT 5 p.m. yesterday, the period for filing certificates of candidacy ended. Around the country, men and women aspiring for public office filed on the last day, sometimes because they decided late, sometimes as a tactic.
In the latter instance, filing at the last possible moment forces the hand of your opponent to reveal his cards early, giving you the last say. You get to know who is running for what position and which post you can select your opponent by choosing the position to run for.
And many pols did just that.
There were a couple of races I was watching.
First, for the Senate. Who would show up on the last day? Surprise, surprise! Apollo Quiboloy, the erstwhile anointed son of God, threw his hat into the ring to become just another in a long list of indicted men who have chosen to run for the Senate.
He joined earlier filers like incumbent Senators Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go, plus new senatorial wannabes, including Philip Salvador and Jimmy Bondoc, as part of the PDP Laban senate slate that is seen as “Team Duterte.”
Rumors have been flying that the former president was going to run for the Senate despite earlier filing to run for Davao Mayor; whatever he does, the PDP Laban will be hoping to bank on the Duterte “mystique” that made the former mayor of Davao a force to reckon with in Philippine national politics from 2016.
The polls will test whether that mystique is still formidable, a little over two years after he stepped down from office.
I was also keenly following the lineup for San Juan since friends are running for reelection. Mayor Francis Zamora is almost a shoo-in for his third and last term, while councilors James Yap and Paul Artadi are also virtually assured of a next term.
As for the lone district congressional seat, there were whispers that outgoing Sen. Grace Poe would challenge re-electionist Ysabel Zamora-Jornada but this didn’t materialize; the congresswoman is up against Jana Ejercito who, if my memory serves, ran in the last local elections and lost.
Finally, my eyes were also set on Taguig, ruled by the Cayetanos since 2010 when Ma. Laarni Lopez-Cayetano beat the machinery of the Tingas to win the mayoralty despite not being able to carry a majority of councilors. No problem; by the time her re-election came around in 2013, there was virtually no opposition in sight prepared to stand up against Mayor Lani.
Of late, however, there have been issues besetting the family to the extent that Lino Cayetano, the youngest of the Cayetano children of Rene and Sandra Schramm, gave up his mayoral seat in 2022 allegedly unwillingly.
This year, after being rumored to be running for mayor against his sister-in-law, the former director of hit teen shows on GMA7 and ABS-CBN chose not to mess up the family by doing so; he chose to run for congressman of the Taguig-Pateros district (a post once held by father Rene during the Batasang Pambansa days when the district included Muntinlupa).
But there was a wrinkle: the official Cayetano lineup included re-electionist Congressman Ading Cruz, a former vice mayor himself to Mayor Lani and a long-time Cayetano family friend and loyalist. This means that while Mayor Lino is not running against his sister-in-law and has in fact asked voters to support her, he is challenging the slate that his elder brother and sister-in-law put together.
I saw the Cayetanos “grow up,” having been the executive assistant of their father from 1984 to 1987, the tumultuous pre and post-EDSA Revolution years. And I’ve remained in touch with them through the years. So I have mixed emotions as I watch things unfold in Taguig, taking consolation in the fact that I am a registered voter in Laguna and will not have to be forced to take sides.
(How very Filipino of me, yes?)
Anyway, now that every candidate has passed his papers, let’s take time to assess each and every one of them before we commit our votes, ok?
