The duo of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto has filed their respective Certificates of Candidacy (CoC) at the Amoranto Sports Complex as the first day of candidacy filing for the 2025 midterm elections kicked off.

Belmonte and Sotto were accompanied by their fathers former House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. and former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto and their spouses Raymond and Joy.

In a statement, the QC mayor stressed that the legacy of the Belmonte administration is not just about the number of buildings and houses built, job and livelihood opportunities created and reforms that have been institutionalized but rather how it improved the lives of QCitizens and earned their trust in the past five years.

“It is the resounding vote of confidence from the business sector, even amid the pandemic and other challenging situations. Ultimately, what matters most is the lasting impact we have made on the people we serve,” Belmonte said.

“Did they feel truly serviced and cared for? Were they given help when they needed it, for education, transportation, livelihood or until they had a loved one pass away? We can proudly say that we have provided and will continue to provide this type of service for all we serve,” she added.

Local candidates under Belmonte’s banner local Serbisyo sa Bayan Party running as councilors also went with Belmonte and Sotto to file their CoCs.

Meantime, QC First District Representative Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde has also filed his CoC at the National Capital Region Office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in San Juan City where he was accompanied by Belmonte, Sotto and his family.

The legislator is seeking a second term “in order to continue the programs and projects that have benefited the people of Distrito Uno.”

Atayde stressed that if reelected, he plans to focus to solve the perennial flooding in Quezon City, aside from expanding the programs that he implemented during his first term as a congressman.

“To tell you honestly, I will not preempt Mayor Joy’s vision, but definitely there is a plan, and that’s I’ve been working on,” Atayde said in an interview. “The city has been working on it, of course, led by Mayor Joy Belmonte.”

Atayde also said that there was already a study on how to mitigate flooding in Quezon City.

“We just started with research about the flood problem of the entire Quezon City. And definitely it is not alienated to people in our city that District 1 is the most affected,” Atayde said. “Moving forward, we would pursue that project, that promise during the campaign. As years go by, it is for us to see them that our promises are meant to be.”

In other developments, Belmonte’s nephew — Mikey Belmonte — was the early bird in filing his candidacy at Amoranto Sports Complex.

A last termer city councilor of District 2, the aspiring reelectionist came along with his dad Miguel Belmonte, the president and CEO of Philippine Star newspaper.

The younger Belmonte said he will seek reelection to finished his three terms as a city dad working on steady supply of maintenance medicine for their constituents and measures to prepare the city residents for any calamity specially the “big one”, the anticipated earthquake which fault lines runs along the city particularly many areas of District 2 (Fairview area).

Senator Nancy Binay, on the other hand, has also filed her CoC at the Commission on Elections satellite office in Makati City as she plans to run for mayor.

Over at Manila, Mayor Honey Lacuna and Vice Mayor Yul Servo will be filing their CoCs together between 10 a.m. and 12 noon on 3 October 2024 at the SM Cinema 12 in SM Manila, vowing to continue good and honest governance that is centered on the delivery of more basic services for the needy sectors, especially the senior citizens.

Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco and his elder brother, Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco were also among the early filers of their CoCs.

John Rey, accompanied by his wife, submitted his candidacy at the Kapitbahayan Multipurpose Building in Barangay North Bay Boulevard South for a second term.

Councilors of Districts 1 and 2, who are mostly reelectionists, have also filed their CoCs alongside Mayor Tiangco.

The Navotas lawmaker, on the other hand, also seeks reelection as the city’s lone representative and is also the current campaign manager of Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, the administration’s senatorial slate.

In Caloocan City, second district representative Mitch Cajayon-Uy officially filed her reelection bid at the Comelec-NCR office in San Juan City. She was joined by Caloocan City Mayor Along Malapitan who also raised her hand after formally submitting her candidacy. The last day of filing CoCs according to the Comelec will be on 8 October 2024.

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