MANILA - Simon Tantoco, the eldest grandson of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, on Thursday confirmed that he would run for councilor in Pasig City.

Tantoco will be joining the slate of his uncle Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, and Mayor Vico Sotto.

“We’re part of one family but we’re independent minds,” Tantoco told ABS-CBN News when asked about insinuations that his family may be positioning to forge their own dynasty in Pasig.

Tantoco, 30, who earned a business degree from the De La Salle University, said he has wanted to run for public office since graduating from college about a decade ago, but his family told him to gain experience first in the private sector.

“We always keep in mind that politics is not forever,” he said.

“In case we are successful at it, that’s good pero kung hindi para sa sa atin 'yan, at least mayroon tayong puwedeng balikan,” he said, crediting his mom - Mons Romulo - for the advice.

Tantoco worked for the SM group and Udenna Corp before deciding to run for councilor in the 2022 elections.

There was neither pressure to continue the Romulo legacy in government nor plans to establish a political dynasty, he said.

“Ang maganda sa family namin (what's good with our family is), in the end, it’s my own decision,” Tantoco said.

“No pressure… So grateful ako na in terms of style and approach, they (family) are just supportive but they are not micromanagers,” he said.

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Sotto, meanwhile, declined to answer why he included another Romulo in his slate despite being known as a dynasty slayer. The mayor had ended the decades-long rule of the Eusebio clan in Pasig after he defeated former Pasig Mayor Bobby Eusebio in the 2019 elections.

Sotto said he would respond to political questions after he files his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections on Friday. Sotto is running for re-election.

“Bukas na naman ang simula ng filing bakit di pa natin antayin, di ba?” the mayor said.

(The start of filing [COCs] is tomorrow, why not wait for that?)

Rep. Romulo is also running for re-election, and his nephew said that it is up to Pasig voters if they think another Romulo deserves to be in government.

“Ultimately, we will accept gracefully whatever will happen next year,” he said.

“In the end I can assure everyone na aalagaan ko 'yung legacy na tinayo ng pamilya natin (I will take care of the legacy my family has built),” he said.

“Whatever the decision next year, we will accept humbly and gracefully.”

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