ILIGAN City ― Lawyer Franklin M. Quijano, a former mayor of Iligan City, said he is open to joining another political team ahead of next year’s midterm elections, including the ‘Abante Iligan’ slate, which currently has no candidate for mayor.
Quijano made the statement days after filing his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for city mayor on Tuesday, October 8. ‘Abante Iligan’ has fielded retired police officer Col. Graciano ‘Buboy’ Mijares as their candidate for congressman, though Mijares was initially expected to run for mayor.
Meanwhile, former city vice mayor Jemar Vera Cruz has filed his COC for vice mayor under the same team. Vera Cruz previously served as vice mayor under the administration of former mayor Celso G. Regencia before their political alliance fractured.
The rival ‘Team Unity,’ led by mayoral candidate Roy Ga and vice mayoral candidate Oliver ‘Wekwek’ Uy, also filed their COCs later that same day.
Quijano’s openness to joining the ‘Abante Iligan’ group has not been directly addressed by Vera Cruz, who only commented that “every candidate for mayor could be their candidate.”
Quijano’s candidacy automatically triggers his resignation as Commissioner for Senior Citizens, a position to which he was appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He was previously suspended for 90 days from that post.
The mayoral race now includes four candidates: incumbent Mayor Frederick Siao, Roy Ga, retired Col. Rolando Anduyan, and Quijano.
