Tugade decides not to run for senator

MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Saturday said he decided not to join the Senate race in the 2022 elections.

"I decided not to file my certificate of candidacy (COC) for multiple reasons," Tugade said.

"One of which is by not filing my COC, I can emphasize that the efforts of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in finishing projects are not, in any way, in aid of election. It is just in doing and completing what we sincerely and honestly think is good for the country, the people, and the sambayanan," he added.

The transportation chief was among the prominent politicians expected to vie for one of 12 coveted seats up for grabs in the 2022 senatorial elections.

In September, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi announced its candidates for the 2022 elections, including Tugade, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, among others.

Senate hopefuls trooped to the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila from October 1 to 8 to file their certificates of candidacy.

Recently, Tugade’s name appeared in a massive data leak of some 11.9 million documents reported by the ICIJ media consortium, which found that several government officials around the world have used offshore firms to cloak their wealth.

The transportaion chief defended his family’s offshore investments as revealed in the “Pandora Papers” investigation, saying such were a legitimate attempt to grow their financial portfolio. — with report from Ramon Royandoyan