MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano made official his bid for the vice presidency on Friday, October 16, as he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the position at the Commission on Elections office in Intramuros, Manila.

“Be calm, change is coming,” Cayetano said in a media interview after he filed his COC. He is the third senator from the Nacionalista Party to file a candidacy for vice president. (READ: 10 things to know about Alan Peter Cayetano)

Cayetano is running as an independent, with no standard-bearer at the time he filed his COC, but he said he remained hopeful that Rodrigo Duterte would run for president.

“I have 100% support for Mayor Duterte as president of the Philippines,” Cayetano said, when asked who he would support for president. He added, “Let us continue to bombard the heavens with prayers” to convince the Davao mayor to join the presidential race.

At the time, there was just a little over an hour until the end of the filing of COCs.

Redefine the vice-presidency

Cayetano said he wanted to redefine the vice-presidency, a position often thought to be a reserve in case the president is incapacitated or unable to lead.

“The vice president can be a drum-beater, can be an agenda-setter. He can be a person in the Cabinet that will push for true change. The vice president, is not just a spare tire,” he told the media.

The 44-year-old lawmaker is ranked 4th among voters’ preference for vice president, bared on the results of the last Pulse Asia Survey with a rating of 9%. He came after Marcos (13%), Escudero (23%), and Poe (26%).

In his declaration that he would run for vice president, Cayetano said his platform would revolve around spreading growth and progress to all corners of the country. 

He announced his support for federalism, a form of government that would give local or regional government units almost equal power to the central or national government. 

Federalism is one of Duterte’s advocacies. The Davao mayor had said that it would be the foundation of his platform, if he runs for president.

‘Tunay na pagbabago’

Cayetano has also cited his experience in both local governance and national legislation as strengths in his campaign for “true change.”

He has been a fierce critic of the Aquino administration. His name appeared in headlines after his confrontational style of questioning during the Senate hearings on the Mamasapano massacre in which 44 Special Action Forces troopers were killed.

A co-author of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, he withdrew his support for the bill after the ill-fated military operation.

But he has said he would throw his support behind the bill after some key amendments are made. – Rappler.com