Parañaque City’s 2025 mayoral race is shaping up to be a family feud met with new challengers as incumbent first district Rep. Edwin Olivarez prepares to face off against his sister-in-law, Aileen Claire Olivarez, to succeed as city mayor.
Edwin, who previously served as mayor for nine years, will switch places with his brother, incumbent Mayor Eric Olivarez, who is set to run for Congress.
Amid this political shuffle, two independent candidates, Barangay Baclaran Chairman Julius Anthony ‘Jun’ Zaide and communications practitioner John Andrew ‘Drew’ Uy, are gaining support from residents looking for an alternative to the Olivarez family’s dominance in local politics.
Zaide, 42, aims to prioritize healthcare and social services if elected mayor. He plans to improve the city’s public hospitals and ensure that residents receive adequate medical care without seeking services outside the city.
“We want to provide medical needs that are sufficient so as for them not to look for better services outside of the city,” he said. The aspiring mayor also highlighted the need for more efficient delivery of basic services and expressed openness to adopting best practices from other Metro Manila cities.
Uy, meanwhile, advocates for a platform called “Pitong Plano sa (Seven Plans for) Parañaque,” which focuses on strengthening arts and culture, improving healthcare, enhancing labor and education, empowering sports, and promoting good governance.
Both Zaide and Uy previously ran for mayor in 2022 but fell short against the Olivarez family. With the political landscape now split between Edwin and Aileen Claire, the two candidates hope to capitalize on growing public sentiment for change.
Zaide believes his experience as barangay chairman has prepared him to serve the city on a larger scale. I have extended my line of service to all of my constituents whether they voted for me or not. This is the kind of policy that I want to implement across the city,” he said.
Uy, for his part, emphasized that his campaign is driven by direct feedback from residents. He said he has listened to their concerns and ideas, and he is ready to translate those into actionable plans for the city.