MANILA, Philippines —- Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri filed his certificate of candidacy on Wednesday, seeking a reelection bid in next year's polls.
Zubiri said he is running as an independent bet, but has been adopted by the slate of Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
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He added he is also supported by the faction of the PDP-Laban led by Sen. Manny Pacquiao.
"The public is not at a disadvantage in my service of six years in the 17th and 18th Congress," Zubiri said in Filipino after filing his COC. "We have no issue of corruption..we have not been absent."
Zubiri first came to the Senate in 2007 but resigned in 2011 amid allegations of electoral fraud.
Before that, he served three terms as congressman of Bukidnon, succeeding his father Jose Maria Zubiri Jr., who is now governor of the province.
In 2016, Zubiri won a new term in the Senate and was elected the chamber's majority leader two years later.
Among his priorities should he win another term would be the passage of the third coronavirus financial aid or the Bayanihan 3.
Zubiri said the assistance package would focus on workers hardest hit by the pandemic, including farmers, those in the tourism industry, as well as small businesses.