Rommel "Kambal" Santos Acuña (born March 7, 1973) is a Filipino politician who has served as the acting mayor of Marikina since March 2025, after the Office of the Ombudsman suspended

Marcelino Teodoro Marcelino "Marcy" Reyes Teodoro (born August 2, 1970) is a Filipino politician and former publisher who is the representative-elect for Marikina's first district. He previously held the seat from 2007 to 2016 and has served as the mayor of Mar ...

from office. Acuña previously served as a member of the

Marikina City Council Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. Located along the eastern border of Metro Ma ...

from 2019 to 2025, as well as a member of the Tañong Barangay Council from 2013 to 2019. During his tenure in the city council, he identified as an ally of Mayor Teodoro. However, leading up to and during his interim mayoralty, he began strengthening his ties to Representative

Stella Quimbo Stella Luz Alabastro Quimbo (born Stella Luz Fagela Alabastro; November 23, 1969) is a Filipino politician and academic who has served as the representative for Marikina's second district since 2019. She previously served as a commissioner of th ...

and ran in the 2025 Marikina City Council election under her slate. He was defeated, placing twelfth.

Life and career

Acuña was born on March 7, 1973 in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. He entered politics in 2013, when he was elected as a

barangay councilor A barangay councilor ( or ) is an elected government official who is a member of the Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Council) of a particular barangay, the smallest political unit in the Philippines. Each barangay council has seven regular coun ...

in Tañong. He was later reelected in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, taking his oath in June before Representative

Miro Quimbo Romero Federico Saenz "Miro" Quimbo (born December 12, 1969) is a Filipino politician who is the representative-elect for Marikina's second district, a seat he previously held from 2010 to 2019. A graduate of University of the Philippines Dili ...

Marikina City Council (2019–2025)

Elections

Acuña ran for councilor of Marikina's first district as "Kambal Acuña" () in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

under the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, intending to switch with his twin brother Ronnie Acuña, who at that point had served three terms as Liberal councilor in the district. Rommel won a seat in the city council after placing fifth in the election. During his 2022 reelection campaign, Acuña was included in the slate of Mayor

, with him actively participating in house-to-house campaigns alongside the latter. He also warned the public about the spread of fake news during the campaign period. Acuña was reelected as councilor under the

United Nationalist Alliance The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA ) is a political party in the Philippines. It was created as a multi-party electoral alliance replacing the former United Opposition (UNO) coalition for the 2013 midterm elections, before it was launched ...

(UNA). Acuña sought reelection to the council in 2025, running under the slate of Representative

. He was defeated, placing 12th out of 21 candidates.

Tenure

During a flood response operation in 2024, Acuña highlighted the city's disaster preparedness. In 2024, Acuña switched his party affiliation to

Lakas–CMD Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats, abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and also known simply as Lakas, (and known as Lakas–Kampi until 2011) is a political party in the Philippines. Lakas–CMD is considered to be on the Centre-right politics, centre ...

and allied himself with Stella Quimbo. The following year, he endorsed the Trabaho Partylist, which ran on a platform supporting labor rights and job opportunities.

Acting Mayor of Marikina (2025)

The

Department of Interior and Local Government The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and strengthening local government capability aimed towards t ...

(DILG) designated Acuña as acting mayor of Marikina on March 26, 2025, a day after Mayor Teodoro's suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman. Simultaneously, his twin brother, Ronnie Acuña, was appointed as acting vice mayor, with both of them sworn into their respective offices before Barangay San Roque chairman Tadeo Amaril in front of city hall.

Personal life

Acuña is married to Teresita de Leon.

Electoral history

References

1973 births Living people 21st-century Filipino politicians Lakas–CMD politicians Mayors of Marikina United Nationalist Alliance politicians

External links

Marikina website
{{Marikina City Government