The Philippines is set to hold its next general election on May 9, 2022. The registration period for candidates is open from October 1-8. Apart from the posts of the president and vice president, more than 18,000 national, local, and congressional posts will be contested in the May elections.
Current President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that he would run for the vice-presidency in 2022. However, he has since backtracked from his statement and announced a complete retirement from politics.
Here’s a glimpse of profiles of candidates who have entered the race so far.
Manny Pacquiao
In a Facebook video posted last week, boxing star Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from the sport to focus on “the biggest fight in his political career.” He was the first one to officially file his certificate of candidacy on October 1, along with running mate, house deputy speaker Lito Atienza.
Pacquiao is famously conservative and assumed the presidency of Duterte’s PDP-Laban political party in December 2020. The leader supports the return of the death penalty, a promise made by Duterte during his own campaign. He also called homosexuals “worse than animals,” but later apologised by saying he was against same-sex marriage.
Pacquiao has also said that post-pandemic economic recovery will be his top priority.
An opinion poll placed the former boxer in the fourth spot among all candidates.
Isko Moreno
Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, popularly known as Isko Moreno, filed his certificate of candidacy on October 4 along with his running-mate Willie Ong, a doctor with over 16 million Facebook followers.
Moreno will run under the political party Aksyon Demokratiko, of which he is the President. His platform centres around combating the COVID-19 pandemic, creating jobs, and strengthening access to education, housing, and health care.
“I will be a healing president. While ours will be a government of national reconstruction, it will also be a government of national reconciliation, based on justice and rule of law,” Moreno said of his presidency, which he refers to as “open governance.”
According to a recent survey published by Pulse Asia, 13% of the respondents expressed support for Domagoso as a “probable” presidential candidate.
Panfilo Lacson
Senator Panfilo Lacson filed his candidacy along with his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, on October 6. The duo will represent the centre-right Partido Reporma party. While Lacson was known to sometimes agree with President Rodrigo Duterte, he directly attacked Duterte during his speech at the launch of his campaign.
Lacson is expected to focus his attention on combating the pandemic, social inequality, and ensure the openness of the West Philippine Sea. Like Rodrigo Duterte, Lacson and Sotto are also campaigning against illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption. However, the duo has said that their approach would be “different.”
This is Lacson’s second attempt at the presidency.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
On Tuesday, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, became the fourth candidate to officially announce his bid to run for president.
Marcos Jr. has been both a congressman and a senator. He had also been governor of Ilocos Norte province.
Marcos Jr. has received a lot of flak from several sections of the society who have criticised his running for president as an erasure of the human rights abuses committed during his father’s martial rule. According to Amnesty International, 70,000 people were detained, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 disappeared and were presumed to be dead during martial law from 1972 to 1981, However, Marcos Jr. has dismissed the claims as “lies.”
The latest poll showed Marcos to be the second-most popular candidate for president, behind only President Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio. However, although Duterte-Carpio had previously expressed interest in running for President, she has already filed her candidacy for re-election as mayor of Davao City.
Meet the Candidates: The Philippines’ 2022 General Election
Here’s a glimpse of profiles of candidates that have entered the race so far.
October 6, 2021
SOURCE: PHHUA