Manila City Councilor He was elected as Councilor of the
City of Manila in
2004 at the age of 26 and was nicknamed "
Batang Magaling". He lost reelection in
2007.
2013 National Elections Belgica ran as a candidate in the
2013 Philippine Senate election under the newly accredited
Democratic Party of the Philippines, but failed to win a seat. One of Belgica's campaign promises was a
flat tax system for the Philippines; in particular, a simple, one-time, and one kind tax of not more than 10% only on net income on both individual and business profits. He also espouses belief in a
limited and
decentralized form of government, a
free market, and
Christian fundamentalism. He leads the campaign to convert the PDAF and other discretionary funds of politicians to tuition vouchers for all students and capital for families, individuals and businessmen. He believes that money and resources should be in the hands of people and not with politicians and government. Belgica is the founder of the Truth and Justice Coalition (TJC), a non-stock, non-profit non-government organization which envisions a progressive government where corruption is abhorred and public accountability prevails.
2016 National Elections In the
2016 Senate election, he ran again for a senate seat as an independent candidate and supported
Rodrigo Duterte for President. But again, he failed to win a seat. In September 2017, Belgica along with the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) accused Sen.
Sonny Trillanes of using his
pork barrel for ghost projects. Trillanes dared Belgica to get a Commission on Audit report, and file a case at the Ombudsman. Belgica on March 24, 2016, filed a
disbarment case against Ombudsman
Conchita Carpio Morales over her decision to drop all administrative and criminal cases against former President
Benigno Aquino III over the
Disbursement Acceleration Program. The
Supreme Court dropped all the charges within the few days, indicating that Belgica's complaint is flawed. On October 30, 2018, he founded the
Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS), a national political party accredited by the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission On January 12, 2018, he was appointed Commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) under the
Office of the President of the Philippines. In a little under a week leading the PACC, Belgica would disclose during a press conference that he has gathered strong enough evidence to pin down the former President
Benigno Aquino III over the
Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). He shared that he is highly confident that a
conviction of the former president will be made. On October 15, 2018, Belgica would file 274 counts of malversation of public funds at the
Ombudsman through conspiracy against former President Aquino, as well as his administration officials, former
Budget Secretary,
Florencio Abad, former
Transportation Secretary,
Emilio Abaya, former
DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, former Senators
Franklin Drilon and
Antonio Trillanes IV, and other subordinates. On November 13, 2019, Belgica presented in a news conference a bribery attempt by
Ifugao District Engineer, Lorna Ricardo. Ricardo was formerly the Assistant District Engineer of
Davao City, who also faced cases filed by the
Commission on Audit (COA) for substandard work. PACC in 2019 commenced investigations on the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and their collusion with members of the
House of Representatives on their
pork barrel after receiving complaints. Belgica would conduct a press conference with
Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who would later become figured in the
flood control scandal of 2025. When asked to name names during the initial submission of the report to the President, Belgica refused as he felt it would compromise the investigation. Belgica then shared that the scheme would involve congressmen selecting a
contractor who then presents himself to the DPWH District Engineer, and the bidding is then rigged in favor of the contractor, who then gives the
kickback to the District Engineer and the legislator. At the end only 50% of the budget actually goes to the project itself, resulting to sub-standard work. Belgica also put his sights on
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) during the
COVID-19 pandemic, as the government owned
insurance company face scrutiny after a number of resignation from midlevel managers, complaints over corruption, overpriced purchases, and manipulation by top executives. On October 23, 2020, employees of the
Duty Free Philippines (DFPC) filed administrative and criminal complaints against Belgica for grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to service, gross inexcusable negligence and violations of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act at the
Ombudsman. This came out after the DFPC employees reported to Belgica on the abuse of the Supply Delivery Agreement by DFPC officials. The DFPC employees received a copy of the PACC report on the complaint they made, and found that none of the DFPC officials names were even mentioned by Belgica. Belgica promised the DFPC employees that they would not shell out any money for legal fees, but the complaint indicated that the employees still shelled PhP 1,000 per page of their affidavit, amounting to PhP 130,000 in total. The named legislators denounced and denied their inclusion in Duterte's PACC list. The House of Representatives meanwhile dared Belgica to file formal charges against the legislators, and considered the PACC report as malicious. The PACC didn't file any case, and the DPWH District Engineers were only relieved from their posts. On August 21, 2021, President Duterte would dismiss
National Electrification Administration head Edgardo Masongsong, based on the recommendation of PACC due to graft. Masongsong denied the allegation. He resigned from his post in the PACC to run again for a Senate seat in the
2022 election. He ran under
PDDS but lost, finishing 37th.
2022 National Elections Belgica ran under the
Tuloy ang Pagbabago Senate slate in his 3rd attempt to run for national office. He only garnered 2,297,798 or 4.23% of the votes cast, landing on the 37th place. During one his interviews, Belgica said the Philippines should consider
nuclear weapons given that its neighbors such as
China,
South Korea, and
Japan possess them. South Korea and Japan do not have nuclear weapons. The
Commission on Elections however had Belgica in its list for "perpetual disqualification from holding public office" along with 544 others, as he has failed to file his Statement of Contributions and Expenses (SOCE) within 30 days. Belgica decried this.
2025 National Elections Belgica filed for his candidacy on October 7, 2024, under the
partylist Bisaya Gyud. His party only received a total of 3,366 votes. Belgica also began a signature campaign to lobby with US President
Donald Trump, Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader
Xi Jinping, and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, to have former President Rodrigo Duterte to be released by the
International Criminal Court. As of September 2025, the signature campaign on Change.org gained 14,301 unique signatures. ==
Belgica v. Ochoa ==