21 Manila bets withdraw bids before polls

MANILA, Philippines - About 21 candidates from Manila’s six districts withdrew their candidacy before Monday’s barangay elections officially kicked off.

Eleven of them ran for barangay chairman, while the rest were seeking the post of kagawad or councilor. A big chunk of the candidates came from District 3, documents obtained by The STAR show.

Some of the candidates did not provide reasons, while some stated them in their waiver.

In District 5, election officer Narciso Arabe said Joey Lobos Co backed out from the polls to give way to his brother who is also seeking the post of kagawad.

In District 2, election officer Arnulfo Aguilar said Flora Sorbita withdrew her bid because of the “lack of material time to launch a credible campaign.”

District 4 election officer Liza Torres, said some candidates were forced to withdraw not because of personal reasons, but because they filled out the wrong form.

“Some filled out forms for barangay chairman when they were running for councilor, while some candidates for councilor filled out forms for barangay chairman,” she said.

Some of these candidates, Torres added, even blamed her office.

“It’s not our fault. Most of those who made mistakes downloaded the form from the Internet,” she said.