DOTr’s Tugade: I dropped plan to run for senator in Eleksyon 2022

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said Saturday that he dropped his plan seeking a Senate seat in the upcoming May 2022 elections by not filing a certificate of candidacy (COC).

Tugade was among those initially included in the PDP-Laban Cusi wing’s senatorial slate.

The weeklong calendar for the filing of COCs ended on Friday, October 8.

“I decided not to file my certificate of candidacy (COC) for multiple reasons,” Tugade said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Tugade was tagged in the “Pandora Papers” report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Rappler, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The report alleged that Tugade is keeping an offshore firm while occupying government positions but this is not declared in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN). 

But, the Transportation chief said he has consistently been disclosing in his SALN under ‘Personal Properties – Intangible,’ particularly as ‘Offshore Investments’ from 2012 to 2020,’ the offshore company in question.

Nonetheless, Tugade said he will continue working on finishing the projects of the DOTr.

“Tuloy ang trabaho sa pagtatapos ng proyekto. Tuloy ang pagtawag pansin sa mga tamang gawa,” he said.

(We will continue to finish the projects. We will continue to recognize honest work.)

“Maraming maraming salamat po sa tiwala, suporta at dasal. Sana po ay tuloy-tuloy ito hanggang matapos ang mga proyekto,” he added.

(Thank you for the trust, support, and prayers. I hope these will continue until the projects are finished.) —LBG, GMA News

DOTr’s Tugade: I dropped plan to run for senator in Eleksyon 2022
Source: Filipino Viral News PH