Roy Señeres

Despite these initiatives, however, citing a failing health condition due to his long-standing bout with diabetes, Señeres finally decided to withdraw his presidential bid on February 5, 2016.

Shortly after withdrawing his bid for presidency due to health reasons, Señeres suffered a cardiac arrest and was admitted to the intensive care unit of the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig, which according to his sister-in-law was triggered by his diabetes. On February 8, 2016, in an interview with DZMM, his eldest son RJ said that Señeres died from his cardiac arrest that morning while at the intensive care unit. Señeres was 68 years old and was survived by his wife and their six children.

On February 9, 2016, Señeres daughter, Hannah filed a motion to the Commission on Elections stating that he would not be substituted saying that it was among of his last wishes. Señeres was also said to refuse to endorse any of the five remaining presidential candidates. On the same day, an earlier motion was filed by Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka to declare Señeres' presidential candidate slot vacant. Apolonia Comia-Soguilon, a lawyer and member of the party since 1995 was touted by Señeres' party to be Señeres' substitute candidate.

He reiterated his plan for candidacy in the 2016 presidential election one year later during a briefing in the House of Representatives. Under the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka, he fielded a vice-presidential candidate and a 12-man senatorial slate, and launched his presidential bid on October 11, 2015, at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila. At the time of the filing of his certificate of candidacy, Señeres was a Philippine congressman for the OFW Family Club Party List. He was mostly involved in labor issues having been an Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates overseeing the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers in the gulf state including the case of Sarah Balabagan. He was also the chairman of National Labor Relations Commission.

On November 22, 2015, he launched the National Headquarters of the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka for his presidential campaign in Las Piñas.

Señeres was critical of Duterte, stating "irreconcilable differences" with the latter. He described himself as "pro-life" and diametrically described Duterte as "pro-death". However, it was reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that two Supreme Court justices, Jose Catral Mendoza and Bienvenido Reyes, pressured Señeres to withdraw from the presidential election in favor of Duterte in a meeting of fraternity brothers in Pasig on December 4, 2015. The four are part of the Lex Talionis Fraternity which was founded in San Beda College. Seneres denied the newspaper report a week later, saying that he discussed other matters with the justices, and that two other lawyers in attendance were those who offered the possibility of Duterte substituting him.

In October 2015, Señeres revealed that he would vote for either Grace Poe or Miriam Defensor-Santiago, his presidential competitors, rather than for himself, to "bring back the 'old custom' of chivalry".

Señeres first bared his intention to run for the Philippine Presidency on October 20, 2014, during the launch of his Respect our Security of Employment (ROSE) movement in Butuan.

Señeres campaigned against contractualization which he described as illegal under the Labor Code. He went further to say that major shopping malls were those mostly responsible for the practice of contractualization. He said that contractuals do not receive labor benefits and neither are given security of tenure. In the context of contractual workers employed in shopping malls, he argued that billions of pesos that would have been given to them as benefits (such as the 13th month pay) are utilized by their employers to build more malls in the country and abroad.

Señeres chaired the National Labor Relations Commission of the Department of Labor and Employment from 2002 to 2005. During the 2013 elections, he won a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives as the representative of the OFW Family Club party-list.

He served as a labor attaché in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates from 1983 to 1989. During his tenure as a labor attaché, his residence served as a refuge for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who fled from their employers. This would lead to the establishment of the first Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) center in the Emirati city.

Roy Villareal Señeres (July 6, 1947 – February 8, 2016) was a Filipino statesman and diplomat who initially ran in the 2016 Philippine presidential election under the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka party before withdrawing on February 5, 2016, three days before his death. Señeres was elected as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the OFW Family Club party-list in the 2013 general elections. He is the father of former congressman Christian Señeres.

Roy Señeres was born on July 6, 1947 in Mambusao, Capiz to Federico Señeres and Lourdes Villareal. They formerly resided in the Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte, but eventually moved to Butuan. Roy studied at the Primary Butuan Elementary School, Butuan Central Elementary School, and Agusan National High School. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1967 and a Bachelor of Laws at San Beda College in 1971. He passed the bar exam the same year.