MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV made official his bid for the vice presidency on Wednesday, October 14, as he filed his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila. 

He is the second Nacionalista Party senator to file his CoC for the position, following senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr who filed the previous day.

Clad in the dark blue color of the Magdalo group, he was accompanied by his wife Arlene.

After filing his CoC, he told media that his vice presidency will be a continuation of his group’s battle against corruption.

Standing behind him were fellow military officers who were jailed with him after they staged the Oakwood Mutiny in 2003. The coup was in protest of corruption in the military during the Arroyo administration.

“Pagpapatuloy po namin ang sinimula namin noong 2003. Kasama ko po silang nakulong at hindi namin tinigilan ang paglalaban. Ngayon po ay ihahandog muli namin ang amin paninilbihan sa bayan,” he said.

(We will continue what we started in 2003. They were with me in jail and we have not stopped the fight. Now, we are offering ourselves again for the country.)

He said his platform would focus on 3 priorities: “restoration of peace and order, anti-poverty, and the fight against corruption.”

Not Miriam’s running mate

Though running as an independent candidate, Trillanes has said he will support the presidential bid of poll front runner Senator Grace Poe. 

He confirmed that he was not the vice presidential candidate being referred to by Miriam Defensor Santiago as her possible running mate.

Trillanes is banking on the support of the Samahang Magdalo. The original group of military officers who staged the Oakwood Mutiny has become a 500,000-member socio-civic organization with 541 chapters nationwide. 

The mutiny catapulted the 44-year-old Trillanes into the political scene.

Despite being behind bars after the mutiny, he ran and won as senator in 2007, credited to public dissastisfaction with then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was reelected to a second Senate term in 2013. (READ: 8 things to know about Antonio Trillanes IV)

Recently, he played a major role in the Senate probe on various corruption charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay, earning him the ire of the opposition standard-bearer.

As senator, Trillanes has had 56 bills passed into law including the New Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act and the Anti-Bullying Law.

He is one of 3 Nacionalista Party senators running for vice president.  – Rappler.com