Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is officially running for mayor of Caloocan City in the upcoming 2025 national and local elections after taking his oath as member of Aksyon Demokratiko, the political party founded by the late Raul Roco.
Aksyon chairperson Ernesto Ramel, Jr. made the announcement on Monday in a ceremony with party officials. He welcomed Trillanes to the organization, which advocates for clean, efficient and compassionate local governance.
Ramel said they believe Trillanes, a retired Philippine naval officer turned politician, will be an excellent mayor just like their incumbent party president former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
Trillanes has earlier expressed his intention to run for a local position after his failed re-election bid for the Senate in 2022.
“I want to step back from the national noise. I’m doing this for national consciousness,” Trillanes was quoted saying in a television interview late last June.
The former senator said he prefers to help uplift the lives of the urban poor in Caloocan City this time around.
Trillanes was born and raised in Caloocan City, but has paternal roots in Albay. He is the founder and incumbent president of the Magdalo Party, which has forged alliances with major political parties.
He entered the political mainstream in 2003 when he led the Oakwood mutiny against then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, protesting alleged corruption in the military.
While in detention, Trillanes won a Senate seat and was later granted amnesty under President Benigno Aquino III. He also ran for vice president in 2016 but was defeated by Leni Robredo.
In recent years, Trillanes has remained active in politics, filing libel cases against the supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He also filed graft complaints against Duterte and his longtime aide turned Senator Christopher Lawrence Go over alleged corruption in infrastructure projects.
Caloocan City is currently under the leadership of Mayor Dale Gonzalo Malapitan of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP).
