Doc Willie Ong, 2 others file COCs for senator

Health advocate Dr. Willie Ong on Thursday formalized his senatorial bid in the 2025 midterm elections by having his certificate of candidacy (COC) filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Ong's COC was filed by his wife Dr. Liza Ong on his behalf. She emotionally thanked her husband's supporters for their prayers for his recovery.

Willie Ong is currently undergoing treatment in Singapore for cancer.

Lawyer Gilbert Lauengco, Ong's legal counsel, said his client would harness social media for campaigning. He also said Ong may return to the country by November to physically campaign.

"He plans to go back to do a limited physical campaign by December to January and by February, he will go to areas where we feel like that he will need to be physically present," said Lauengco.

"As always, his core constituency is his online followers. He will do as much as he did the last time by going to Facebook, Youtube, social media with a bit of physical campaign," he added.

Asked how confident Ong is in performing his duties should he win, Lauengco said: "He's fully confident. As a doctor, he's well aware of his limitations for campaigning and for participating as an active senator".

"He knows and understands that his sickness is not something that will debilitate him from doing that. There will be times it will be tough and he will fight for it but he's very confident that he would be very physically fit in the event that he wins to perform the duties of a senator," he added.

Before Ong, two other individuals have filed their respective COCs for senator on Thursday morning, namely Jose Bunilla, a former local official and Agusan del Sur, and Jaime Balmas.

The filing of COC for the 2025 midterm elections started on October 1, 2024 and will last until October 8, 2024. —KBK, GMA Integrated News