Paolo Capino officially withdraws bid for senator, endorses Eleazar

Media practitioner and former senatorial aspirant Paolo Capino withdraws his candidacy from the Comelec, and endorsed the candidacy of retired PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar. Screengrab from John Eric Mendoza

MANILA, Philippines — Media practitioner and persons with disability (PWD) advocate Paolo Capino officially withdrew his 2022 senatorial bid on Monday.

Capino went to the Commission on Elections main office in Intramuros, Manila to formalize his withdrawal during the last day of candidate substitution filing.

After pulling out his candidacy, recently retired Philippine National Police chief General Guillermo Eleazar filed his candidacy for senator, substituting for Capino under Partido Reporma.

Capino’s letter of withdrawal from senatorial race

“Last Saturday when General Eleazar retired, I decided to withdraw. There is no better man who will replace me than General Eleazar,” he said in an ambush interview after his withdrawal.

Capino shared that he asked Eleazar on Saturday to continue his advocacy to help PWDs.

“Nag-usap kami ni General Eleazar nung Saturday nung official retirement na niya. All I asked from him was to carry my advocacy sana na tulungan niya ‘yung mga PWD,” he said.

(General Eleazar and I talked on Saturday during his official retirement. All I asked from him was to carry my advocacy to help PWDs.)

Capino earlier announced his intent to withdraw from the polls, saying his chances of winning are “slim to none.”

He said that he will return to his media company Advocates Philippines as its chief executive officer.

Capino is among the senatorial aspirants endorsed by the tandem of Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III. He earlier filed his certificate of candidacy for senator on October 6.

EDV