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Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV says the the first step to addressing the lack of progress in Caloocan City was to stop ‘corruption in city hall’
MANILA, Philippines – Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Saturday, September 14, announced his intention to run for Caloocan City mayor in the 2025 elections.
Trillanes made the announcement during the mass oathtaking of the Magdalo party list on Saturday, saying that he had been going around Caloocan for months, where he “heard the people’s plea for change.”
“I have seen and felt the needs of our people and the serious gaps in addressing their problems. Reform is an understatement of what needs to be done and I am ready to take on that challenge to uplift Caloocan and its people. Today, I am announcing my candidacy for mayor of Caloocan City,” he said.
Trillanes added that even if Caloocan is a big city, it has been left behind in terms of progress. He said that the first step to addressing this was to stop “corruption in the city hall.” The money saved from graft can be used to address the people’s needs.
“In the coming months, I will present my platform to the people on how I and my team will bring change in Caloocan City,” he said.
Aspiring candidates for the 2025 elections must file their certificates of candidacy from October 1 to November 9, 2024.
If Trillanes wins the position, it would mark his comeback to politics after six years. He was last in public office as a senator from 2013 to 2019.
Trillanes first emerged in the national spotlight when he, as an officer of the Philippine Navy, led the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny to protest corruption in the military. Even as he was jailed over rebellion charges, he ran for senator and managed to win in 2007.
Then-president Benigno Aquino III granted him amnesty in 2010. Then, in 2013, Trillanes was reelected to a second Senate term.
Even while inactive in politics, Trillanes remained a staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and fought back when Duterte tried to revoke his amnesty. He ran for the Senate in 2022, but lost.
In August, Trillanes sued Duterte and Senator Bong Go for alleged corruption. – Rappler.com
