TV host Willie Revillame eyes Senate seat

MANILA, Philippines — TV host and game show icon Willie Revillame has filed his certificate of candidacy (COC), hoping to secure a seat in the Senate.

Revillame submitted his COC on Tuesday, October 8, the final day for filing candidacies.

This marks Revillame’s first bid for an elective position.

Unlike in the 2022 elections, Revillame said that he is not running under the endorsement of any president or politician.

In 2021, he revealed that former President Rodrigo Duterte had offered him a slot for his Senate slate for the 2022 national polls, but he refused. 

However, he supported and endorsed the Tutok to Win Partylist, which takes its name from his popular online game show launched during the community quarantine in 2020.

The party-list, represented by businessman Sam Versoza, garnered 685,578 votes in the 2022 elections.

Revillame’s “Tutok to Win” was later integrated into his long-running show “Wowowin,” which aired on GMA 7.

His contract with GMA Network ended on Feb. 15, 2022, with the show airing its final episode on Feb. 11, 2022, before moving to the Villar-owned ALLTV in September of the same year.

However, the program ended its run on the Villar-owned channel on April 5, 2023, after Revillame reached an agreement with the network to terminate his contract.

On April 26, 2024, Revillame signed a new deal with the Pangilinan-owned TV5 Network Inc. and MediaQuest Holdings, marking his return to TV5.