PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte gained more allies in Cebu after hundreds of officials from 17 towns and four cities took their oath as members of PDP-Laban last night.
In the same event, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez announced that the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) will reorganize and recruit more allies in the barangays to help promote the shift to federalism.
More than 300 officials from the towns of Aloguinsan, Asturias, Balamban, Bantayan, Barili, Borbon, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Medellin, Pilar, Pinamungajan, San Remigio, Sta. Fe, Tabogon, Tabuelan, and Tuburan took their oath last night as party members in Cebu City’s Sacred Heart Center.
Officials from the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, and Toledo also attended the event.
Also present were Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia (Cebu Province, third district), Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, fourth district), former Cordova vice mayor and incoming Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Adelino Sitoy, and former Cebu City congressman Antonio Cuenco, among others.
Sitoy will also head the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.
‘Anything’
In an interview, he denied reports that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña sought his help last week to arrange for a meeting with President Duterte and to take oath as an ally of PDP-Laban.
“Wa man mi nagkasulti ni Tomas. Wa ako kadungog nga mobalhin siya sa PDP Laban (Tomas and I have not spoken. I haven’t heard that he’s moving to PDP-Laban),” Sitoy said.
Asked if former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama will join the administration party, Sitoy said, “In politics, anything could happen.”
Speaker Alvarez, interviewed separately, said that it will be up to the group to decide if or when Rama can take oath, but that it would be best if his name was cleared first.
The former mayor was one of more than 150 local officials, police officers, and judges whom President Duterte linked to the illegal drug trade, citing police and military intelligence reports.
“Murag di na maayo ipa-take oath if naa pa ka sa lista. Bisan ako gusto nako i-welcome ang tanan but if naa ka sa listahan, murag di sa (It wouldn’t be good to let someone take oath while he remains on that list. I want to welcome everyone, but for those on the list, maybe it’s not yet the right time),” Alvarez told reporters.
He also said that if Osmeña wants to join the party, it would not be a problem, but the group should decide on it collectively.
Control
The administration party-led coalition already controls the majority in both the Lower and Upper Houses of Congress, less than two months after Duterte won by a margin of more than six million votes.
Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing, a former Liberal Party (LP) ally, was among those who took oath yesterday as a PDP-Laban member, along with Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna and all 10 city councilors.
Quisumbing, Fortuna and seven councilors used to be with LP while the other three councilors—Ben Basiga, Elmer Cabahug, and Malcom Sanchez—were under One Cebu and had been endorsed by PDP-Laban in the May 9 elections.
Quisumbing said he decided to transfer because he wants the City to give full support to the president, particularly his fight against illegal drugs and all forms of crime.
“For us, it is important not only to say we are supportive (of the programs of President Duetrte) but to show our support pinaagi sa pag-apil sa (by joining the) PDP-Laban to be able to make sure we can fully support the president,” Quisumbing, a former congressman, said.
Both in
During the photo opportunity after the oath-taking, Mandaue City’s officials posed in two groups. Quisumbing’s group went onstage first, followed by the three minority councilors.
As for Cebu City’s officials, former mayor Rama was not with last night’s group.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella led the group, which included Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera, James Anthony Cuenco, Jose Daluz III, and Jerry Guardo.
Labella said he has no idea yet when the former mayor will take his oath as a PDP-Laban ally.
Asked about the overwhelming number of Team Rama allies who took their oath—despite the allegations against their local party leader—Alvarez said there was nothing wrong with that.
“Wa man na sila’y labot (They had nothing to do with it). I don’t see anything wrong with that. The crime of one is not a crime of all,” he said.
Not yet
Councilors Raymond Garcia and Joel Garganera were not around since they were out of town on urgent family matters. Councilor Eduardo Rama opted not to take oath yet, out of respect for the former mayor, his uncle.
Garcia and Garganera will reportedly take their oath individually.
Councilors Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. and Nendell Hanz Abella already announced they will not join PDP-Laban.
Vice Mayor Labella said that with this development, the City will be able to avail itself of projects from the National Government.
Around 65 barangay captains in Cebu City were also present during the oath-taking to show support.
Since they are required to be apolitical, Cebu City Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) President and Tisa Barangay Captain Phillip Zafra said they attended the oath-taking only to show support for the Duterte administration.
They also signed a manifesto signifying their support for the administration, which the vice mayor and the councilors handed over to the House speaker.
