Manila mayor Alfredo Lim files COC

MANILA -- Incumbent Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim on Monday filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and formalized his re-election bid for next year's midterm elections.

The 82-year-old Lim, who filed his COC at the Comelec 1st district field office in Arroceros, is seeking his third and final term as mayor of Manila. He is a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).

Actor and Manila City Councilor Lou Veloso, Lim's vice mayoral bet, also filed his COC. They were joined by 36 candidates for councilors and six re-electionist Manila congressmen - Naida Angping, Benjamin Asilo, Amado Bagatsing, Trisha Bonoan-David, Carlo Lopez, and Sandy Ocampo.

Lim, who first attended a mass before his COC filing, also discussed the planned establishment of the Manila Financial Center.

"[A]ko ang taong my vision at walang bisyo. Ito ang aking pangarap para sa Maynila. Ang iiwan kong legacy para sa inyo," Lim said in his official Twitter account after filing his COC.

Referred to as "Dirty Harry" for his tough law enforcement, Lim first served as mayor of Manila from 1992 to 1995. He then ran for presidency in 1998 but lost to then Vice President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

Appointed by Estrada, Lim served as the Department of Interior Local Government Secretary from 1998 to 2000, but later joined 10 other cabinet members in resigning at the height of the Edsa People Power II in 2001, which toppled the Estrada administration.

Lim won a senate seat in 2004 and was again elected as Manila city mayor in 2007 and in 2010.

For the 2013 polls, "Dirty Harry" will once again be pitted against Estrada, who is also seeking the mayoral post of Manila. (Emmanuel Louis Bacani)