Escudero to file COC on October 2

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Thursday said he will file his certificate of candidacy on October 2 without fanfare.

“I’ll be by myself.  We don’t intend to make it a big occasion,” Escudero said in Filipino during a regular forum in the Senate on Thursday.

Escudero, who is seeking his re-election bid, said he will run as an independent candidate in the upcoming 2013 midterm elections.

The senator was mentioned as part of both the Liberal Party coalition and the United Nationalist Alliance, the new coalition formed between Vice President Jejomar Binay’s PDP-Laban and former President  Joseph Estrada’s Puwersa ng  Masang Pilipino.

Escudero refused to say under which group he would join, saying  he would leave it up to both parties to  make the final decision and make the formal announcement.