APPLICANT FOR VICE PRESIDENT: Willie Tan Ong

“DOC” WILLIE TAN ONG

 Personal information

• 57 years old
• Born on Oct. 24, 1963
• From Tondo, Manila
• Has two daughters (Anjelica and Catherine)
• Married to Anna Liza Ramoso, who is also a physician
• Cardiologist, digital content creator

Educational background

• Medicine graduate, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute
• Studied Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila
• Studied History of Medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Work experience

• Medical director, Pasay Filipino-Chinese Charity Health Center Inc. since 1998
• Chief fellow, Philippine General Hospital since 1999
• Columnist, The Philippine STAR and Pilipino Star Ngayon
• Host, “Docs on Call” radio program on dzRH (2009 to 2017)
• Consultant, Department of Health (2010 to 2014)
• Chief resident physician, Manila Doctors Hospital (1996 to 1999)

Ong, who ran under the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas CMD) Party, lost the senatorial elections in 2019. He ranked 18th overall with 7.6 million votes. According to analysts, his social media influence was not enough to make him win a Senate seat.

Ong has millions of followers on Facebook and YouTube where he would upload videos on health concerns and other practical tips.

COC filing

Ong filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president with the with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Harbor Garden Tent of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City on Monday, Oct. 4, with his running mate, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

The tandem is running under the political part Aksyon Demokratiko.

Speaking after the filing, Moreno urged voters not to allow him and Ong to “get separated” by making them both win in the polls.

Moreno said he wants to focus to other aspects of governance while giving Ong the task of addressing the health crisis that the world is facing now.

According to Moreno, political bickering shav become tiresome and it will not be good to have a president and a vice president who will quarrel for five to six years being from the administration and opposition, respectively. “The people are being forgotten," he noted.

Ong said he and Moreno’s priority is to “heal the land” and not bickering because it only drags the country down.

“We have so many good plans for our country, especially for our economy, food, health, and employment. We won’t focus on political bickering because we see that it is the root of our problems,” he noted.

Ong vowed that as vice president and doctor, he will help the country’s pandemic response by setting aside politics.

“We should focus on healing the country and put the focus away from politics, which hampers government services,” Ong said in Filipino.

Ong assured the public earlier that he would not resort to political bashing even as he faces bigwigs like Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

During the “Kapihan sa Manila Bay” forum on Sept. 29, Ong said he also shunned the advice of political operators to refrain from sounding defeatist when he admitted in various interviews that he was a reluctant candidate.

“All political operators are telling me not to say in public that I could lose, that I would just try. That I should present myself as strong. I don’t follow them. That’s not the real me. I will just be myself,” Ong said.

The social media doctor admitted he was “sweet-talked” by Moreno to be his running mate.

“But I was sweet-talked to help millions of Filipinos… I know I’m at a disadvantage, that I might win if I run as senator and not vice president, but it doesn’t mean I will not fight. I leave it to God,” Ong said.

Asked how he will fare against other candidates, Ong said the enemy is COVID-19 and the pandemic.

“Our enemy is COVID-19. They are not my enemies. I will just be honest with myself and offer it to the people. It’s up to them.. Who knows? I might get lucky and win,” Ong noted.

Ong said should he and Moreno win, the pandemic response will be led by health experts and not retired generals.

He also defended Moreno from criticisms that the mayor is a “fence-sitting” candidate, or one who claims to be neutral in the political spectrum.

Moreno started criticizing the present administration shortly before he declared his presidential bid.

But he praised the President and received accolades from Duterte in the past, before the two had a falling out over the local government unit’s pandemic response.

The Manila mayor maintained that he is open to listen to all sides, presenting himself as a candidate with no political color.

“I don’t see him or myself as a fence-sitter… I respect everyone. President Duterte won by a landslide. Vice President Robredo is doing well in her COVID-19 response. How I wish the president and vice president would work with each other,” Ong said.