Rep. Olivarez to switch place with mayor brother

PARAÑAQUE 1st District Rep. Edwin Olivarez will switch places with his younger brother, Mayor Eric Olivarez, in next year's midterm elections.

«My family and my party mates had agreed three days ago that I will be the one to run for mayor instead of my younger brother,» Representative Olivarez said in an interview Sunday.

Mayor Olivarez will run under the local party Bagong Parañaque banner and Lakas-CMD.

Parañaque Mayor Eric Olivarez (left) and Rep. Edwin Olivarez PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAÑAQUE PIO

Representative Olivarez served as city mayor from 2013 to 2022, and chairman of the Metro Manila Council, the policy making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

He is currently the chairman of the House committee on government enterprises and privatization.

On the other hand, Eric entered politics in 2007 when he ran for a seat in the Parañaque City Council where he served for six years. He later sought the city's first district congressional seat succeeding his older brother Edwin, who was also elected mayor.

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He served as a congressman for three terms until 2022, when he ran and won as mayor, switching with his brother, once again.

Their father, Dr. Pablo Olivarez, served as city mayor from 1982 to 1985. Their younger sister Eva Olivarez, is the incumbent chairman of Barangay San Dionisio, one of the biggest among the city's 18 barangay (villages).

Edwin's running mate is incumbent Vice Mayor Joan Villafuerte, who defeated the vice mayoral candidate of the incumbent mayor, former councilor Binky Favis, during 2022 national elections.

Villafuerte, a former television reporter for ABS-CBN's «Bantay Bata 163,» is under the Liberal Party in the 2022 elections.

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According to Representative Olivarez there would be minor changes in the lineup for councilors in the city's two legislative districts.

He said his platform of governance will still focus on «Bagong Parañaque,» defining the acronym B for Business and Environment-Friendly; A for Academic Excellence for Education; G for Good Governance and Public Order; O for Opportunities for Livelihood and Housing; N for Nutrition, Health and Welfare of Senior Citizen; and G for God-centered