MANILA - Former Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista on Wednesday filed his certificate of candidacy for senator, his first bid for a national post since joining politics in the 90s.

Bautista will join the 2022 Senate slate of senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III.

Bautista was first known as an actor in the 80s before he shifted to politics in the 90s.

He served as councilor and vice mayor of Quezon City before ascending to the city’s mayoralty post from 2010 to 2019.

In 2012, the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation Inc. (MSBFI) filed graft charges against Bautista and 6 others over the alleged illegal takeover of the local government of a 7-hectare land in North Triangle.

The Quezon City government took over the land located on the corner of Quezon Avenue and EDSA after MSBFI allegedly failed to pay taxes worth around P59 million, but the foundation’s management claimed that they are exempt from paying taxes.

• QC Mayor Herbert, 6 others face graft raps

Last year, the former Quezon City mayor faced 3 other graft charges over the local government’s purchase of allegedly defective solar panels and CCTV cameras.

• Ex-QC Mayor Herbert Bautista sinampahan ng ika-3 kaso ng katiwalian

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