Former senator Jinggoy Estrada, who has a pending plunder case, filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Sunday, a day after his half-brother, JV Ejercito, also a former senator, filed his own COC at the Harbor Garden Tent in Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.
Estrada led two other senatorial bets, eight party-list groups, and presidential aspirant Tiburcio Marcos in filing their applications for national office on the third day of registrations.
Apart from the former movie star, also bidding for the Senate are Najar "Jinggoy Adang" Salih and Luz Aquino.
The groups ABONO, 1-UTAP, VOICE Philippines, MANIBELA, PATROL, 1A SECAP, ACT ONE and Ilocano Defenders also hope to get party-list slots in the House of Representatives.
This will be the second face-off for the two sons of former President Joseph Estrada, who himself was convicted of plunder in 2007.
Estrada and Ejercito first slugged it out for the same Senate position in 2019.
But both brothers, who were in the 13-candidate slate endorsed by the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the party led by presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, failed to win election.
Estrada almost made it to the "Magic 12" as he landed on the 13th spot while Ejercito was No. 15.
During the campaign, they shared the same stage at times, but were several seats apart due to a rift.
Estrada said he doesn't mind being adopted by other political parties like the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) to which Ejercito belongs.
Estrada, president of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), said it was a non-issue for him to be on stage with his half-brother. He said it would be an honor for him to be a guest candidate of other political parties.
On the possibility of a "split vote," perceived as a major reason for their loss in their 2019 Senate run, Estrada said he would leave it to the voters to decide.
Estrada said being an elder brother, he reached out to Ejercito several times.
"We talked personally, face-to-face, around three weeks ago, " Estrada said, but nothing happened.
“We talked about plans for this coming election. First, he was thinking of running here in San Juan, but he told me–give me one week to decide, and after one week, I heard from a mutual friend that he is gunning for the Senate again," Estrada said.
Estrada said he opted to run again because he wants to help Filipinos who were rendered jobless due the global health crisis that crippled the economy.
Also on Sunday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said police officers should be loyal to the people and the Constitution, not to politicians.
In a statement, he ordered PNP personnel to stay away from candidates, both local and national, saying this has always been the stand of the 222,000-strong organization.
“I am warning all our personnel not to meddle into political activities or do things that can be misconstrued as expressions of support to any candidate. Those who will do so will be answerable to me," he said.
At the same time, Eleazar said he will expose politicians colluding with illegal drugs syndicates to boost their winnability.
“I am warning candidates not to invest in illegal drugs because we will expose you and file a disqualification case and relevant case once we have gathered enough evidence against you,” Eleazar said in Filipino Saturday.
Eleazar earlier ordered an aggressive campaign against loose firearms and private armed groups as part of early security preparations to ensure the peaceful, honest, and orderly conduct of the national and local elections on May 9, 2022.
The filing of certificates of candidacy is ongoing nationwide until Oct. 8 while the extended voters’ registration will be on Oct. 11 to 30, Mondays to Fridays except on the last day, a Saturday which will accommodate registrants.
Voters will elect the president, vice president, 12 senators, 316 seats for the House of Representatives, and 63 seats for party-list representatives.
Local posts include 253 district representatives, 81 governors, 81 vice governors, 782 provincial board members; 146 city mayors, 146 city vice mayors, 1,650 city councilors; 1,488 municipal mayors; 1,488 municipal vice mayors; and 11,908 municipal councilors.
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao voters will also choose 40 party representatives, 32 parliamentary district representatives, and eight reserved and sectoral representatives.