Several Upsilonians have filed their Certificates of Candidacy (CoC) for the midterm elections scheduled for May 12, 2025.

SENATORIAL CANDIDATE

Former Senator Francis Pangilinan '81 seeks a return to the Philippine Senate and appears to be the lone senatorial candidate of the once dominant Liberal Party. He served in the Senate from 2001 to 2013 and then again from 2016 to 2022. In 2022, he ran for Vice President but lost to Sara Duterte. The three-term senator served as senate majority leader from 2004 to 2008.

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

Leading the charge in the House are four reelectionists led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez '85 who is expected to keep his seat as representative of the 1st district of Leyte, a post he has held since 2019 and previously, from 2007 to 2016.

Also running for reelection is Congressman Roman Romulo '86 of the lone district of Pasig. The popular lawmaker and education advocate served four consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016 and returned to the House in 2019 after an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2016.

Seeking another term is Congressman Arnie Fuentabella '94 who is the incumbent representative of Camarines Sur's 4th district. The congressman is the former municipal mayor of Tigaon, Camarines Sur. His father, the late Arnulfo "Noli" Fuentabella was a former Speaker of the House, and his brother Wimpy Fuentabella '93, also served as representative of the 4th district from 2013 to 2016.

Also seeking a new mandate is Cavite 7th district representative Ping Remulla 2015. Brod Ping won a special election for his district when his father, Justice Secretary Boying Remulla '79, vacated the position and joined the Marcos cabinet in 2022. The 7th congressional district of Cavite consists of the city of Trece Martires and the adjacent municipalities of Amadeo, Indang and Tanza.

Joining the four reelectionists and seeking his first term in Congress is Pakil, Laguna municipal mayor Vince Soriano 2015 who is running in Laguna's 4th district. The two-term mayor was first elected vice mayor in 1998 at the age of 21 and became a provincial board member representing the 4th district in 2001.

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES

There are four Upsilonians running for governor. Reelectionist Dennis Socrates '82 is running for a second term in Palawan, a post he has occupied since 2022. The governor served as vice governor of Palawan from 2013 to 2022 and represented the 2nd district of Palawan in the House from 2010 to 2013.

Former Tarlac governor Vic Yap '84 hopes to return to the Tarlac provincial capitol and succeed his sister, incumbent governor Susan Yap. He was governor of the province from 2007 to 2016 before serving as representative of Tarlac's second district from 2016 to 2022.

Abeng Remulla 2015 is running for governor of Cavite, replacing his uncle, Gov. Jonvic Remulla '87, who has joined the Marcos cabinet as DILG secretary and consequently, withdrew his reelection bid. Brod Abeng is currently Cavite's 7th District board member. He is the son of Justice Secretary Boying Remulla '79 and brother of Cavite's 7th district representative Ping Remulla 2015.

The youngest gubernatorial aspirant is Kiko Bernos 2020 who is running for governor of Abra. Brod Kiko is the incumbent vice mayor and former councilor of Bangued, Abra. He is running in tandem with his mother, former Abra governor Joy Bernos, who is seeking reelection as vice governor.

PARTY LIST AND MUNICIPAL CANDIDATES

There are several Upsilonians running for municipal posts and as party list representatives.

The CoC filing deadline ended on October 8, and the following have filed their CoC's according to a list compiled by the resident fellows:

Rap Abragan 2017 - Party-list Representative, Ipatupad for Workers Inc.

Franz Legazpi 2018 - Party-list Representative, Pinoy Workers Party List

Neil Andrew Nocon '87, Mayor, Los Baños, Laguna

Jovi Fuentabella 2003, Mayor, Sagñay, Camarines Sur

Jay Quitain ‘90, Councilor, 1st District, Davao City

Tonyo Estrabo '98, Councilor, Luisiana, Laguna

Joe Umali 2010, Councilor, Calapan, Oriental Mindoro

Tof Sumulong 2020, Councilor, 2nd District, Antipolo City

Alfred Vargas 2020, Councilor, 5th District, Quezon City

Aldrin Soriano 2022, Board Member, 4th District, Pangasinan

Jonas Abadilla 2023, Councilor, Muntinlupa City

Macky Mathay 2023, Councilor, 2nd District, San Juan

The Upsilon Sun will update this list if new information becomes available.

Editor's Note: The list of candidates was compiled with the help of fellows Je Tomas 2016, Iñaqi Gregorio 2020 and Migs Pilapil 2021.