Bagatsing served as chairman of the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders' Associations, Inc. (CREBA) Council of Leaders and its National President in 1981, 1982, and 1986. He attempted to run for mayor in
1998, picking former Vice Mayor
Danny Lacuna as his running mate. Lacuna won but Bagatsing lost to incumbent
Lito Atienza. A week after the 1998 election, Bagatsing and two other defeated mayoral candidates unsuccessfully petitioned the
Supreme Court to disqualify Atienza for allegedly violating the Omnibus Election Code after illegally disbursing in public funds to public school teachers during the campaign period. He ran again in
2001, picking again Lacuna as his running mate, but still lost to Atienza. He returned to Congress in
2007, and served for three terms until 2016. In
2016, he ran again for mayor, with
Ali Atienza as running mate, but lost to another incumbent and former president
Joseph Estrada. but both suffered defeat to the tandem of former Vice Mayor
Isko Moreno and the then-incumbent Vice Mayor
Honey Lacuna. In
2022, he attempted to run again as mayor, even without a running mate, but lost to incumbent Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna. In
2025, Bagatsing ran for congressman in the 5th district of Manila under former Mayor
Isko Moreno and
Chi Atienza's slate named Yorme's Choice. However, he lost to incumbent
Irwin Tieng, losing the congressional race for the first time. ==Controversy==