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MANILA, Philippines – In Las Piñas, home to over 600,000 citizens, two members of the longstanding Aguilar dynasty are vying to be the successor of Mayor Imelda Aguilar, who is on her final term.
Two members of another political clan are seeking to switch places — term-limited Senator Cynthia Villar and her daughter, Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar — while former city officials are again seeking to end the reign of the Aguilars and Villars.
Rappler lays out the races to watch out for in the fight for the top seats in Las Piñas, which has around 291,074 voters as of 2022.
The grip of the Aguilar and Villar dynasties
Two related political dynasties have controlled the city’s seat of power for decades.
The rule of the Aguilar dynasty started with the father of Cynthia, Filemon Aguilar, the first mayor of the city in the 1960s.
The Villars debuted in Las Piñas politics in 1992, when Manny Villar was elected as a congressman. He and members of his family held the position ever since. After serving three consecutive terms, Manny was succeeded by Cynthia in 2001, while their son, Mark, made a successful bid for the same post in 2010. Camille has been Las Piñas congresswoman since 2019.
Former candidates and new faces are running to end the rule of the dynasties, saying this would herald true progress in Las Piñas.
During the decades of dominance of these two families, the city was able to bring down its poverty incidence, from 3.1% in 2020 to 1.3% in 2023, according to the latest Metro Manila regional development plan. Poverty incidence means the percentage of people living under the regional annual per capita poverty threshold of P37,711 in 2023.
Mostly a suburban residential area based on its comprehensive land use plan, the city still has a housing gap of 24,458 units, placing it in the middle to lower end of rankings topped by Quezon City, Manila, and Taguig in terms of biggest housing needs. Like most cities in the National Capital Region, Las Piñas has seen a decrease in green spaces, from 868 hectares in 2014 to 378 hectares in 2022.
Las Piñas citizens see traffic as a longtime problem that needs to be addressed by the government, given its big impact on their daily lives. Citizens also continue to grapple with flooding, despite efforts to address it.
Dynasty challengers running for district representative
Three candidates are challenging Cynthia Villar’s House comeback.
Luisito Redoble, a certified public accountant and lawyer, is on his second bid for Las Piñas congressman, after losing in 2022. A candidate of the Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, Redoble is a pro bono lawyer who had represented Las Piñas residents facing legal challenges such as ejection cases, debt disputes, and forced evictions without proper relocation.
When he filed his certificate of candidacy in October, he shared that he wanted to stop the reign of the Villar and Aguilar dynasties in his city.
Redoble’s campaign rests on three foundations: competence, compassion, and character. He also aims to prioritize creating a special economic zone and transforming the city into a center of information technology and innovation. He vows not to leave anyone behind, especially the marginalized.
Another candidate for district representative is Mark Anthony Santos who has been a city councilor since 1990. He campaigned for both Aguilar and Villar during the previous election but is now seeking to end the Villar dynasty. He claimed the city has been left behind and the Villars have no moral authority to lead the city.
Santos pointed out the need for a genuine leader and district representative. He invited citizens to support him in bringing change to the city by prioritizing a social housing program, congressional extension office, student allowances, and expanding green cards. He also wants Las Piñas to have another district and provide additional benefits for senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities.
Senior high school teacher Barry Tayam is also challenging Cynthia Villar, saying he wants to represent the Gen Z of Las Piñas and show how young blood can challenge age-old dynasties. He seeks to prioritize policies on jobs, reform, education, and the arts.
Packed mayoral, vice mayoral races
In the races for top local executive positions, five mayoral candidates and seven vice mayoral candidates are challenging the bids of the Villars and Aguilars.
Candidates Antonio Abellar and Emerito “Rey” Rivera, who joined the mayoral race in 2022, are again running for local chief executive.
Rivera is a certified public accountant, law graduate, real estate consultant, real estate appraiser, and real estate broker. He seeks to lower real estate taxes, expand affordable housing solutions for low-income families, support local businesses, digitalize city services, improve infrastructure, strengthen public safety, and focus on health and educational opportunities.
Rivera, who is vying for the post for the third time, wants to ensure there is peace and order felt by all genders. He promises to stop corruption so that all projects are properly funded and support services for all citizens.
Armando Ducat Jr. is a civil engineer and the owner of an eco-farm resort and construction company who gained notoriety over the decades for pulling publicity stunts. In 2007, he made headlines at home and abroad he held hostage 27 students and four teachers in a bus in Liwasang Bonifacio. The businessman, who was also a daycare center owner at the time, demanded better education and housing for poor children. The hostages were later freed.
Ducat was charged with 27 counts of serious illegal detention and was detained for a year and nine months. His story was featured on “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.”
Conrado Miranda, meanwhile, seeks to prioritize housing and hospitalization services in the city, sharing how people in the second district do not usually make it to the hospital due to heavy traffic.
Rolando Barredo Jr. is also running for mayor.
Like the race for mayor, there are more candidates for vice mayor than in the previous election. There are eight candidates, including Imelda Aguilar and Luis “Louie” Bustamante.
Bustamante, a councilor since 2022, was vice mayor from 2001 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2019, when city hall was under the Aguilars. If elected mayor, he wants to ensure the proper use of funds, support small and medium business owners, strengthen security, and improve services such as health and education.
Vice mayoral candidate Luis “Louie” Casimiro had unsuccessful bids for mayor in 2019 and 2022. He plans to prioritize education, health, infrastructure, social amelioration, peace and order, local economy recovery programs, and also moral recovery programs as a deterrent to illegal drugs and corruption.
Edilberto “Ed” Angeles is on his second try for the vice mayoral post, after a failed attempt in 2022. He aims to focus on programs related to education, hospitalization, a free diagnostic center, and condominiums to have free housing with a factory. He aims to implement this while having a no-corruption policy to ensure that the budget will all go to citizens.
The other vice mayoral candidates are running for the first time: Felipe “Ping” Arteta, Eduvegas “Dong” Batalan, and Cyril David.
Arteta shared that he is running because he wants indigenous people and the poor have a voice in the local government. – Rappler.com
Angela Ballerda is a Mover, or a Rappler civic engagement volunteer, from Las Piñas City. She is a campus journalist at Ateneo de Manila University, currently serving as the Broadcast News Producer of The GUIDON.
