Cebu Third District Representative and One Cebu Party Secretary General Pablo John “PJ” Garcia filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Cebu Provincial Office on October 1, 2024, the first day of the schedule of filing. 

Garcia filed his COC at 8 a.m.,making him the first candidate in Cebu Province to have filed his COC for the May 12, 2025 synchronized midterm elections.

Comelec Cebu Provincial Supervisor, Atty. Marchel Sarno, welcomed the congressman who is seeking reelection for a third term. 

In an official statement on his social media account, Garcia enumerated the reasons why he is confident in seeking a reelection in the third legislative district of Cebu Province.

"I am confident in my record as a legislator and as an advocate for meaningful infrastructure projects and socio-economic programs that make a difference in the lives and livelihoods of the people of the six municipalities and one city in the third district. In the 18th and 19th Congresses, I was principal author of 227 bills and co-author of 120 others, all of national importance, 49 of which have become law," Garcia said. 

Among those he said he is proudest of are Republic Act (RA) 12009 or the “New Government Procurement Act”; RA 11964 or the “Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act”; RA 11901 or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act; and RA 11573 improving the confirmation process of imperfect land titles.

"I am also proud to have been named to the Second Congressional Education Commission, where I’ve had the opportunity to experience up close the challenges facing the Philippine educational system, and the honor of proposing major reforms across the education spectrum. Through our efforts, the Cebu Technological University (CTU) campuses in Asturias, Balamban, and Toledo City have been created, and the Pinamungajan Campus converted from an extension to a regular campus," he added. 

During the One Cebu Party Convention on September 30, 2024, the party signed a cooperation agreement with three political parties in Cebu’s first district, as well as in the independent and highly urbanized cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

In a post on “Sugbo News,” the official news arm of Cebu Provincial Capitol,  Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, One Cebu Party president, signed the agreement with Kugi Uswag Sugbo (KUSUG) Party president, Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia; Alayon-Nacionalista (NP) Party, with its president, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas; and KAABAG Party with its president, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan.

Below is the official list of One Cebu candidates for Congress: 

First district – Rhea Mae Gullas 

Second district – Edsel Galeos 

Third district – Pablo John Garcia 

Fourth district – Janice Salimbangon 

Fifth district – Duke Frasco 

Sixth district – Daphne Lagon 

Seventh district – Patricia Calderon 

Lone district of Mandaue City – Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon

Cebu City North – Rachel “Cutie” del Mar 

Lone district of Lapu-Lapu – Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King Chan

Ako Bisaya Partylist – Sonny Lagon