DOTr Secretary Tugade revealed his reason why he decided not to run for senator in 2022 elections.
DOTr — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade recently revealed his reason why he decided not to run for senator in the 2022 elections.
On Saturday, Tugade said that he decided not to run for senator in the 2022 elections by not filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Sofitel tent in Pasay City. The weeklong calendar for the COC filing ended last October 8.
Tugade was one of those initially included in the senatorial slate of the Cusi-led PDP-Laban party.
“I decided not to file my certificate of candidacy (COC) for multiple reasons. One of which is by not filing my COC, I can emphasize that the efforts of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in finishing projects are not, in any way, in aid of election. It is just in doing and completing what we sincerely and honestly think is good for the country, the people, and the sambayanan,” Tugade said in a statement.
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Tugade was one of those who tagged in the “Pandora Papers” report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and Rappler.
The said report alleged that Tugade was keeping an offshore firm while occupying government positions but this wasn’t declared in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
However, Tugade said that he had consistently been disclosing in his SALN under “Personal Properties – Intangible”, particularly as “Offshore Investments” from 2012 to 2020, the offshore company in question.
Nonetheless, the Transportation chief said that he will continue working on finishing the projects of the Department of Transportation. Tugade thanked the public for their trust, support, and prayers.
“Tuloy ang trabaho sa pagtatapos ng proyekto. Tuloy ang pagtawag pansin sa mga tamang gawa. Maraming maraming salamat po sa tiwala, suporta at dasal. Sana po ay tuloy-tuloy ito hanggang matapos ang mga proyekto,” Tugade said.
Aside from Tugade, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and CHED Chairman Prospero “Popoy” de Vera won’t run for senator in the 2022 elections as well.
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