Comelec: Willie Ong has not yet officially withdrawn his Senate bid

Dr. Willie Ong holds his certificate of candidacy for senator. — Photo from his Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — Dr. Willie Ong has not yet withdrawn his certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Monday.

“We are still waiting for his withdrawal,” Garcia said in an ambush interview at the Palacio del Gobernador.

Ong announced he was withdrawing from the senatorial race last Thursday, February 13, to focus on his health.

He disclosed earlier that has a “very rare” and “large” abdominal cancer.

READ: Doctor-vlogger Willie Ong withdraws Senate 2025 bid

Due to his health condition, Garcia said they expect Ong would withdraw his COC through a representative.

“It’s public knowledge that he is abroad, so we expect that someone would file the withdrawal of his certificate of candidacy,” Garcia said.

“We gave instruction to our law department, knowing his condition, if someone comes here [to file his withdrawal] even without a special power of attorney, we will accept it,” he added.

Ong filed his COC through his wife Liza on Oct. 3, 2024.

READ: Dr. Liza Ong files Senate COC for cancer-stricken husband Willie Ong

Ong first ran for senator in the 2019 midterm elections, and got 7.6 million votes.

He was the vice presidential running mate of then-presidential candidate Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso in the 2022 elections.

READ: Doc Willie Ong bares 2025 Senate run despite cancer diagnosis

Ong is the fourth senatorial aspirant to withdraw their Senate bids.

Former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson; internet personality Norman Mangusin, better known as Francis Leo Marcos; and Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee have since withdrawn their senatorial bids.

Singson withdrew his Senate bid on Jan. 16 due to health issues.

Mangusin also withdrew on Jan. 22 as he backed the reelection bid of Sen. Imee Marcos, while Lee backed out a day before the campaign period on Feb. 10, citing lack of “machinery” to sustain his campaign.

READ: Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee backs out of Senate race

With Ong’s withdrawal, Garcia said 64 senatorial candidates left in the race.

However, the ballot will contain 66 senatorial candidates, including the names of Ong and Lee, since their names could no longer be removed since the ballot printing had been going on by the time they announced their withdrawal.