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Pimentel says he and Teodoro had originally agreed that he would run in the first district, while Teodoro would vie for the second. He was caught off guard when Teodoro filed for the first district instead.
MANILA, Philippines – Term-limited Senator Koko Pimentel III will go head-to-head with long-time Mayor Marcy Teodoro for Marikina’s first congressional district.
Pimentel, running under the Nacionalista Party, filed his certificate of candidacy on Sunday, October 6, while Teodoro, under the National Unity Party, formalized his candidacy on October 5.
Pimentel said he and Teodoro had originally agreed that he would run in the first district, while Teodoro would vie for the second. He was caught off guard when Teodoro filed for the first district instead.
“We have to respect our word. We should have a word of honor. Because if our policy is always like that, the country will not ascend sense if our leaders and politicians have no word of honor,” Pimentel said.
The arrangements between the two happened between December 2023 to February 2024, the senator said.
Had Teodoro opted for the second district, he might have faced former congressman Miro Quimbo, who is eyeing a comeback in the House of Representatives after switching to Lakas-CMD.
Miro is the husband Marikina District 2 Representative Stella Quimbo who is reportedly running for mayor. She is expected to face Marcy’s wife, incumbent District 1 Representative Maan Teodoro.
The Quimbo couple and Maan Teodoro have yet to file their COCs.
Plans for Marikina
If elected, Pimentel aims to focus on fiscal management, citing the city’s growing debt. He also plans to boost Marikina’s shoe industry and address the perennial flooding problem.
Marcy’s legislative agenda, on the other hand, will focus on climate change and environmental protection, focusing on flood control, comprehensive land use plan, conservation of protected areas, and strengthening the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Teodoro previously served for three terms in the in the lower chamber from 2007 to 2016. He started his political stint as a councilor in 1992 and served for three consecutive terms.
Pimentel first dipped his toes into politics in 2001 when he ran for mayor of his hometown, Cagayan de Oro City, but lost to Vicente Emano. However, he said he was raised in Marikina.
Pimentel was elected senator in both 2013 and 2016. He initially ran in the 2007 senatorial race but wasn’t proclaimed the 12th winning senator until 2011, when the Supreme Court, acting as the Senate Electoral Tribunal, upheld his electoral protest. By then, he had less than two years remaining in his six-year term.
Under former president Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2018, Pimentel was the Senate president, following the footsteps of his father late-senator. Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he’s a Senate minority leader. – with reports from Barbra Althea Gavilan and Ramon Franco Verano/Rappler.com
Barbra Althea Gavilan is a Rappler intern. She is a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas.
Ramon Franco Verano is a Rappler volunteer. He is a fourth-year history student at the University of Santo Tomas.
