CEBU City Councilor Nestor Archival has accepted former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s “challenge” to run for Cebu City mayor in 2025, with Osmeña as his running mate.
Archival announced his candidacy with a cake marked “YES” during Osmeña’s birthday celebration on Tuesday night, July 30, 2024.
“If you are going to look at it mayor, you have a ‘Yes’ sign. And me, Nestor Archival, and witnessed with my friends and elders of the BOPK (Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan) family and all of you as witness, I am accepting the challenge and your endorsement for me to run as the mayor candidate of the BOPK candidate and you as the vice mayor of the same team,” said Archival, as he asked Osmeña to blow the candle.
Archival announced that Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa will be BOPK’s candidate for congressman in the south district, while Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos will be running as representative for the north district.
With the announcement Tuesday night, Archival joined suspended Mayor Michael Rama and former Customs commissioner Yogi Felimon Ruiz in the 2025 mayoral race.
Rama said earlier that he will be running for mayor and his vice mayoral bet is Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia.
Garcia is now the acting mayor of Cebu City with Rama’s preventive suspension in effect.
In a previous SunStar report, Osmeña expressed his willingness to run for vice mayor to support Archival if the latter should run as mayor this coming 2025.
Osmeña said he could no longer serve as mayor “realistically,” however he said that he could be of help as vice mayor, particularly in project management. (LMY, JPS)