Former mayor and current municipal administrator Keith Nieto announced yesterday that he will run again next year for mayor of Cainta, a municipality in the Province of Rizal serving as a gateway to Metro Manila.

“I will file my certificate of candidacy for mayor of Cainta on 3 October at 9 a.m. here at the municipal hall,” Nieto said in an interview.

Nieto said if he would lose, he would gladly accept the people’s verdict, leave quietly, and never be seen at the municipal grounds again.

“If given the chance to serve again, I will continue with my plans and programs for Cainta,” he added. “But if you no longer like me, I’d give up and just rest.”

The filing period for the certificate of candidacy for the national and local posts in the upcoming elections is set for 1-8 October 2024.

He revealed that Cainta is set to have its first national high school and a museum, adding the town is one of the oldest in the Philippines, dating back to the Spanish colonization period.

However, Nieto did not rule out the possibility that someone might run against him for the mayoralty.

Nieto last served as Cainta mayor from 2019 to 2022. He was succeeded by his wife, Atty. Elen Nieto, who is currently serving her first term as the town’s chief executive. He now serves as municipal administrator.

If he wins next year’s mayoralty race, Nieto said he would offer Mayor Elen the position of municipal administrator.

“We offered her the administrator position if she wants to continue. Otherwise, she can return to private practice because she’s also a lawyer by profession. She headed a BPO company before taking office,” Nieto said.

“It’s really up to her, but I’m happy we had the chance to work together for at least three years. This is the first time we managed to go in one direction and run the town together,” he added.