Cavite’s Revilla family seeks to keep congressional seats in 2025 polls
MANILA, Philippines — The Revilla clan is looking to maintain its foothold in Cavite’s government, with a father, mother and son all vying for another term in Congress. Two of them filed their certificates of candidacy on Tuesday, October 1.
Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and his family are running for congressional seats in the 2025 midterm elections. His wife, Lani Mercado Revilla and son, Jolo Revilla, currently represent Cavite’s second and first districts, respectively.
Accompanied by Bong, Lani and Jolo submitted their certificates of candidacy before the Commission on Elections on Tuesday, joining the ranks of the long list of actor-turned-politicians in the country.
However, the Revilla political clan did not come from thin air.
Their political legacy traces back to Bong’s father, the late Ramon Revilla Sr., who served two terms as a senator from 1992 to 2004. Of Ramon’s eight children, five have been actively involved in politics.
Bong Revilla
Bong first stepped into politics in 1995 as Cavite’s vice governor and was elected provincial governor in 1998. In 2004 and 2010, he sought a Senate seat, winning both times.
Despite facing plunder charges for misusing P517 million of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Bong made a political comeback in 2019.
After spending four years in detention, he was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in December 2018.
However, the Office of the Ombudsman appealed to the Sandiganbayan, seeking to require Bong to return P124 million of his PDAF.
To this day, Bong aims to win another senatorial bid — his third consecutive term if granted — alongside local candidates under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s senatorial slate “Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas.”
The senator is a member of the Romualdez-led political party Lakas-CMD, which has designated him as its official senatorial candidate for the 2025 midterm elections.
Bong’s sisters
Two of the senator’s sisters have also been elected to local government positions.
Bacoor City has had Rowena Mendiola as its vice mayor since 2022, after spending nine years as a city councilor from 2013 to 2022. Before that, she was a councilor in Imus City from 1988 to 1992.
Meanwhile, outside of Cavite, Antipolo City had Andrea “Andeng” Bautista-Ynares as its mayor from 2019 to 2022. She won unopposed in the 2019 midterm elections after her husband, Casmiro “Jun” Ynares III, completed two terms as mayor from 2013 to 2019.
Jun also previously served as the governor of Rizal from 2007 to 2013. He is currently Antipolo City’s mayor, having won the mayoral race in the 2022 local elections after stepping in for his wife who withdrew from the race.
Bong’s brothers
One of Bong’s brothers was a party-list nominee and another is Bacoor’s incumbent mayor.
Marlon Bautista, who is also an actor and director, ran alongside the 1-PACMAN Party-list as its third nominee in the 2022 national elections. He, however, was unable to secure a seat in the lower chamber as his party-list was only granted one seat.
Meanwhile, Strike Revilla currently works with his sister Rowena in Bacoor, where they hold the two highest positions in the city government. He already served as the city’s mayor for three consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016 and was a city councilor in the late 1990s.
Before serving as a mayor for the first time, Strike was appointed as the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s director in 2005.
Due to term limits, Strike sought to represent Cavite City’s second district in Congress, having served two terms from 2016 to 2022.
It was during this time that Bong’s wife, Lani, ran for mayor of Bacoor after representing Cavite’s second district from 2010 to 2016, a position for which she is now seeking reelection in the 2025 midterm elections.
Bong’s children
Three of Bong’s sons followed their father’s footsteps.
Bryan Revilla is the Agimat Party-list’s incumbent and sole representative in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Ram Revilla is one of the board members of Cavite’s second district.
Jolo closely resembles his father the most, as he also served as Cavite’s vice governor, but for three consecutive terms from 2013 to 2022.
Like his uncle Strike who faced term limits, Jolo sought a congressional seat to represent Cavite’s first district in 2022. Now, he is gunning for reelection in the 2025 midterm elections alongside his mother Lani.
The Revilla family is a political dynasty, with a third generation of Revillas already working to maintain their clan’s presence in government. Including Bong in Marcos’ senatorial slate may further solidify their influence.
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