MANILA - Former Senator Serge Osmeña, who was previously allied with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), and then recently with the Liberal Party, filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) as an independent senatorial candidate on Thursday.

Osmeña said he prefers it that way so he "is not tied to any party or group."

Osmeña, the 19th senatorial candidate for the May 2010 polls who has filed a COC, said he was courted by former President Estrada to join the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) senatorial slate as well as Senator Manny Villar's Nacionalista Party slate.

However, he turned down both offers because he is still bent on supporting the presidential bid of Senator Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP).

Osmeña repeated his earlier pronouncements on why he decided to bolt the LP, saying he does not approve of the party's recruitment of traditional politicians from other camps as this might cause the LP to fall short of its promise for ushering new politics for change.

Osmeña bolted the LP senatorial team after it recruited President Arroyo's former Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto into the LP.

If he wins, Osmeña said his priority bills would be on job creation and limited taxation.

Osmeña was accompanied by his wife Bettina Lopez Osmeña, who was wearing a yellow shirt.-- Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News