MANILA - Former Vice President Noli De Castro filed Friday his certificate of candidacy to join the senatorial race in the 2022 national elections.

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De Castro, who is running under the Aksyon Demokratiko banner, filed his COC in one of the tents at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City.

• Profile of Manuel Jr. "Noli" Leuterio De Castro

This is De Castro's second time to run for senator. He topped the 2001 senatorial election, garnering over 16 million votes, but did not finish his 6-year term after winning the vice-presidency 3 years later.

During his term as Vice President, De Castro was appointed chairman for the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, and ex-officio chairman of the Home Development and Mutual Fund or Pag-Ibig Fund, National Home Mortgage and Finance Corporation , Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board; vice chairman of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (APC), and served as Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers.

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Better known as “Kabayan,” Manuel Leuterio de Castro, Jr. is from Pola, Oriental Mindoro. He finished his college education at the University of East in 1971.

Prior to joining politics, the 72-year-old De Castro is one of the country’s most popular broadcasters anchoring several multi-awarded television and radio programs like TV Patrol, Magandang Gabi…Bayan and Kabayan on ABS-CBN where he began working after the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

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