Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV is reportedly setting his sights on running for mayor of Caloocan in 2025, setting himself up for a faceoff with the Malapitan family that has ruled the city for over a decade.
An Iskooper told Politiko that Trillanes has started making the rounds of communities in Caloocan to listen to people’s concerns and touch base with local leaders.
I don’t know how much experience Trillanes has in local politics, but local politics is way nastier than that of the national level. Will he be running solely based on his fame and name recall? I’d be incredibly wary of the political machinery of the incumbents if I were him. If he is really serious about this, he should then take the time to build up his own machinery, making connections with barangay captains and establishing a network of “grassroots” supporters who’d mobilize people who would then try to convince others to vote for him. I don’t think there’s enough time for all that though.
Of course, there’s the latent anti-Malapitan vote, but I don’t think it can be counted on. Besides, it’s far better to have that as a bonus rather than counting on it.