COC filing day 3, local races: Vilma Santos, Trillanes, ‘embattled’ aspirants

CEBU, Philippines – The third day of filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) on Thursday, October 3, saw key personalities like “Star for All Seasons” Vilma Santos, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay seeking government posts for the 2025 midterm elections.

Santos, who served as the Batangas 6th district representative from 2016 to 2022, launched her bid for governor of Batangas after filing her COC at the Batangas capitol on Thursday morning.

The former congresswoman’s two sons, Filipino actor-comedian Luis Manzano and Ryan Christian Santos-Recto, filed their own COCs as well. Manzano filed his COC for vice governor of Batangas, while his brother filed to run for 6th district representative of Batangas. Santos’ husband, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, accompanied them.

“Kung ilatag man po namin si Lucky [Luis Manzano] sa inyo na sana kung kami papalarin sa awa ng Panginoong Diyos at maging kapartner ko, nakikita ko na po ang pwede pa naming magawa dito sa lalawigan ng Batangas,” Santos said during a press conference.

(If we introduced Lucky to you all, that if we are blessed by God’s mercy and he would become my partner,  I can already see what we can do here in the province of Batangas.)

Manzano will be running against incumbent Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas, who filed his COC on Wednesday, October 2, for vice governor of Batangas. Mandanas is serving his last term as governor.

A Duterte critic’s return

Santos is not the only politician making a comeback in government service.

Antonio Trillanes IV, a known critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte, filed his COC for mayor of Caloocan City at the SM City Grand Central Mall along Rizal Avenue Extension in Caloocan, Metro Manila.

“Bilang tubong Barangay 169 ng Caloocan, layun ko na maiahon mula sa kahirapan ang aking mga kababayan at ayusin ang samu’t saring problema ng aming lungsod (As a native of Barangay 169 in Caloocan, my goal is to lift my countrymen out of poverty and fix the various problems of our city),” Trillanes said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

If Trillanes wins in the upcoming midterm elections, it will mark his return to politics after a six-year hiatus. Trillanes served as a senator from 2007 to 2019.

“Ang pagtakbong ito ay panibagong hamon sa aking buhay bilang isang public servant ngunit ito ay nararapat at napapanahon (This run is a fresh challenge in my life as a public servant but it is right and timely),” Trillanes added.

According to the former senator, the next several months would be intense as his camp would attempt to dismantle a “corrupt political dynasty that’s determined to hold on to Caloocan.” 

Troubled aspirants that filed

Among many aspirants facing scrutiny and legal challenges that still managed to file their candidacies is Dong Calugay, who filed his COC to seek a third term as mayor of Sual in Pangasinan.

In September, lawmakers issued a subpoena against Calugay after he skipped the summons of the Senate panel probing his ties to dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who is linked to illegal operations of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

During a hearing on September 17, it was revealed that Calugay’s executive assistant helped Guo in getting her counter affidavit for a human trafficking case notarized while she was no longer in the country.

Besides Calugay, in the Visayas, there’s Emmanuel “Weng Weng” Veloso, the brother of San Isidro Mayor Remegio Veloso. He managed to file his COC to represent Leyte’s 3rd district, despite being on trial for murder. 

He was represented by his lawyer and nephew, Rem Veloso, who filed his COC at the Leyte Provincial Comelec Office in Tacloban City. Veloso was previously linked to the 2019 murder of San Isidro municipal administrator Levi Aporbo Mabini. 

As of this writing, Veloso is detained at a prison facility in Payatas, Quezon City. – Rappler.com