Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez on Wednesday filed his certificate of candidacy for the May 2019 polls in a bid for his third and last term.
Olivarez, who ran unopposed in the May 2016 elections, is now running against former mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr., who served for three consecutive terms starting 2004.
Olivarez is the son of Dr. Pablo Olivarez, who also served as city mayor from 1992 to 1995. The physician-turned-politician is the incumbent chairman of Barangay San Dionisio at the age of 82.
In 2010, the elder Olivarez faced Bernabe, who emerged as the winner.
However, in 2013, Bernabe gave way to his son, former city councilor Florencio “Benjo” Bernabe III.
Edwin Olivarez, who was Parañaque’s District 1 House Representative then, beat the younger Bernabe for the mayoralty by about 27,800 votes in 2013.
Edwin’s younger brother Eric also won in a landslide in the first district against Bernabe’s protége in 2013 to succeed him as a congressman. Eric is also running for his last term in Congress next year.
In just two years, Olivarez said he has managed to turn around the city’s financial standing.
“This is the first time that the elder Bernabe and younger Olivarez will face off for the same position,” according to City Administrator Ding Soriano. He said Bernabe Sr. was elected municipal mayor from 1965 to 1986.
Meanwhile, Olivarez is teaming up with incumbent Vice Mayor Rico Golez, son of the late former National Security adviser and Parañaque 2nd District Rep. Roilo Golez, under the administration PDP-Laban party.
Bernabe Jr.’s running mate is former Barangay BF chairman Jeremy Marquez. They both recently took their oath with Lakas-CMD.
Marquez, a former active PDP-Laban official, is the son of former city mayor Joey Marquez.
Golez, Olivarez’s running mate, won by a wide margin against the younger Marquez in the 2016 local elections.
Majority of the city’s incumbent councilors, including actor-brothers Jomari and Ryan Yllana, is under the Olivarez-Golez ticket.
