Incumbent Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor will be squaring off for the city’s top post in 2022.

Defensor already announced his intention to run as mayor with Councilor Winnie Castelo as his running mate.

Defensor has stirred controversy with his distribution of Ivermectin, which he said can cure Covid-19 but experts have yet to approve its use against the dreaded respiratory disease.

Belmonte, running under the Serbisyo sa Bayan party, said if she wins again, she will continue efforts to revive the city’s economy affected by the pandemic.

“My other priority includes housing and security of land tenure for our QCitizens, as part of the overall 14-point agenda that our administration has outlined,” Belmonte said in a statement.

Her 14-point agenda for the city of about 2.9 million people include human and social services, economic development, environment, and climate change, infrastructure, and institutional development.