Caloocan polls pit Malapitan vs Echiverri

FACING a familiar foe in the 2016 polls, Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan formally launched his reelection bid with the filing of his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the local Commission on Elections office on Thursday.

“I want to finish what I started… I focused on health services, peace and order, education… Next year, I want to prioritize urban development… Although there are achievements, three years are not enough,” said the mayor who won his first term in 2013.

Malapitan is a member of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) but his listed party in the local race is Tao Ang Una, a local coalition among members of UNA, the ruling Liberal Party (LP) and Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

His running mate is another reelectionist, Vice Mayor Macario Asistio III, who is a PMP member and son of former Caloocan Rep. Luis “Baby” Asistio.

For its congressional candidates, the coalition is fielding Rep. Edgar Erice of LP in District 2, and Councilor Dale Gonzalo Malapitan, Oscar’s son who is also of LP, in District 1.

Challenging the elder Malapitan for the city’s top post is Caloocan Rep. Recom Echiverri, who filed his COC for mayor on Wednesday. Echiverri served as city mayor for three terms prior to winning a House seat in 2013, when he defeated Dale Gonzalo Malapitan in the congressional race.