MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon on Friday lodged his candidacy for reelection through a representative before the Commission on Elections.
The senator's lawyer, Inky Reyes, filed a certificate of candidacy on Gordon's behalf with a little over an hour left before the deadline.
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At around 3:00 p.m., Gordon's office told reporters he was still struggling to make a decision about which post to seek, consulting with his wife and children. He previously said he was deciding between seeking reelection, a presidential run, a bid for Olongapo mayor or retirement.
"This decision has not been easy, but because we see that so many are still suffering, getting sick and dying due to the lack of quick action in this pandemic, and losing their jobs, we decided to run again," he said in Filipino in a statement posted to social media.
"It is with sincere apologies that I cannot physically file my certificate of candidacy today as I have to take extra precaution for my wife who is immunocompromised."
Recently, Gordon has traded barbs with President Rodrigo Duterte over the Senate’s probe on the government’s deals with the controversial Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.
The lawmaker, who leads the inquiry as blue ribbon chairman, is a relatively new critic of the president. For years, he was part of a Senate majority that generally legislated according to Duterte's agenda.
He has served as chairman of the Philippine Red Cross for 17 years, concurrent with his other government posts. The humanitarian organization is a key partner to the government in its response to the pandemic.
Gordon was first elected to the Senate in 2004 and returned for a second term in 2016. After his term ended in 2010, he launched a failed presidential bid.
He started his political career as mayor of the City of Olongapo from 1980 to 1986.
Gordon was appointed tourism secretary in 2001 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In 2016, he presided over hearings on the administration's "drug war," the committee report for which absolved the president and the state of accountability for the thousands of extrajudicial killings linked to the campaign.
The Senate minority disagreed with the report's findings, with Sens. Leila de Lima and Francis Pangilinan filing their own dissenting reports.
Gordon has also been accused of piling on to the Duterte administration's attacks on De Lima who has since been detained for almost five years on drug charges which she says are trumped up.
Gordon replaced De Lima as justice committee chairperson after she was ousted from the post and eventually detained the following year.