TV director and former mayor Lino Cayetano defended his decision to run in District 1 of Taguig after previously serving as representative of District 2.
Lino Cayetano filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Oct. 2 to run for congressman of the 1st District of Taguig-Pateros, challenging incumbent Rep. Ricardo “Ading” Cruz Jr., the candidate endorsed by his brother, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, and sister-in-law Mayor Lani Cayetano.
Lino Cayetano (Screenshot from Lino Cayetano's video on Facebook)
In 2013, Lino Cayetano was elected congressman of the 2nd District of Taguig and served for one term.
Netizens are questioning why he is running in District 1 after serving in District 2.
In a Facebook post, Lino Cayetano defended his decision, citing his voter’s registration and the 2019 election where Alan Peter Cayetano and Lani Cayetano run in separate districts.
“Sa mga issue ng pagtakbo ko sa district 1 - ako po ay botante ng district 1 mula 1998 - sa bahay ng aking ama Rene Companero Cayetano sa Bagumbayan kami lahat naka rehistro noon (On issues on my decision to run in district 1 - I am a voter of district 1 since 1998 – in the house of my father Rene Companero Cayetano in Bagumbayan where we all are registered before),” he said.
He added, “Madami pa tayo halimbawa dyan pero sa ibang araw na natin pag usapan. Sa paglipat naman ng rehistro - Ika nga ni Sen Alan: ‘Walang problema doon’ (We have more examples about this but we will talk about it in another day. In transferring registration - as Sen. Alan said: ‘There is no problem there).’”
“In 2019, Alan and Lani Lopez-Cayetano filed for district 1 and district 2 representative,” he added.
In 2019, Alan Peter Cayetano ran for congressman of Taguig’s District 1 and his wife, Lani, ran for representative of District 2.
Disqualification cases were filed against the couple before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) because of their residence.
Alan Peter Cayetano listed his residence at 209 Paso Street, Barangay Bagumbayan, Taguig City while Lani Cayetano listed her residence in Barangay Fort Bonifacio.
The Comelec denied the case against Alan Peter Cayetano.
“Here, it is clear that his residence or domicile is still 209 Paso St., Barangay Bagumbayan, Taguig City despite the transfer of their family home to 353-A Two Serendra, Barangay Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. His domicile remains to be that in Barangay Bagumbayan, which has been his domicile from 1991 up to the present,” the Comelec’s Second Division ruled in 2019.
Lino Cayetano also said he is running for congressman as “District 1 (Taguig and Pateros) needs a strong representation.”
“Unang maunlad pero naghahabol tayo ngayon sa d2 dahil sa pag privatize ng Fort Bonifacio at FTI (First to prosper but we are now catching up with d2 [District 2] because of the privatization of Fort Bonifacio and FTI [Food Terminal Inc.]).”
He added, “As Mayor of Taguig, mas lubusan ko naintindihan ang mga mas malalim na mga problema sa district 1 at ang mga kailangan nating gawing mga payo, programa at proyekto para sa mga kababayan natin dito (As Mayor of Taguig, I understood more thoroughly the deeper problems in district 1 and the things we need to make as advices, programs and projects for our fellow citizens here).” He served as mayor from 2019 to 2022.
“Sa Kongreso, malaki ang magagawa natin para magdala ng mga bagong solution sa mga dati na nating mga problema. Mas malakas na synergy sa private sector at mas malalaking partnerships sa national government. tulong tulong din tayo ng ating LGU at mga Barangay (In Congress, we can do more to bring new solutions to old problems. Stronger synergy with teh private sector and bigger partnerships with the national government. We can work hand in hand with our LGU and Barangays),” he added.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and his wife, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano (Photo from Mayor Cayetano's Facebook account)