A total of 104 people will be vying for the right to represent Metro Manila in any of the 32 congressional seats up for grabs in next year’s elections.
Thirty-seven individuals filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) in the Commission of Elections-National Capital Region (Comelec-NCR) office on Friday, the last day of the five-day filing period.
They included House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte who is running in the fourth congressional district of Quezon City; President Aquino’s aunt, former Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta who is eyeing the lone district of Malabon City; and Sen. Pia Cayetano, who is running in the second district of Taguig City.
The Comelec-NCR office closed its doors at exactly 5 p.m. with Diosdado Luna being the last candidate to file his COC.
Luna, 67, a community organizer, is running as an independent candidate in Navotas City. He will be running against the incumbent, Toby Tiangco, who is eyeing his third and last term in Congress. Tiangco is the president of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance.
Asked by the Inquirer why he was running for congressman, Luna said: “I’m running for the people who need change.”
He added that he was not afraid of challenging Tiangco, whose brother John Rey is the current mayor.
“Why should I be afraid? The election is just one day. My wish is that after the elections, we will all unite and be friends,” he said.