Thursday, December 28, 2006 Mayor Soc-Belleza tandem for Talisay has Gullas’ ‘blessing’
“I’M a party man. I will just follow.”
Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez said this as he confirmed yesterday that his tandem with Vice Mayor Aberdovey Belleza for the 2007 polls already has the blessings of Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district).
Gullas reportedly approved the Fernandez-Belleza tandem in a recent gathering of the local Alayon party, called to end any bickering among the city’s elective officials.
Fernandez, Belleza and the rest of the majority bloc councilors in the Sangguniang Panglungsod attended.
This came after talks surfaced that Gullas’ son, Gerald Anthony “Didi” Gullas, will run for mayor of Talisay City with either Fernandez or Belleza as his running mate.
Fernandez, a first-term mayor who is seeking reelection next year, said he has no problem with Belleza as his running mate.
“Maybe we sometimes have a conflict in principle but it’s not personal. The tandem already has approval, so I will just follow whatever is the wish of my political superior,” he added.
Independent
Gullas, Talisay City’s first mayor, backed Fernandez when he ran for mayor in 2004, while Belleza won as an independent candidate.
Recently, the Belleza-chaired SP repealed a resolution that gave Fernandez blanket authority to represent the City Government in entering into a contract with other government or private entities.
But Fernandez reiterated that this had nothing to do with politics, and that the City Council acted with good intentions.
“They voluntarily gave that authority to me, then they can freely withdraw it. There’s no problem with me,” he said.
Cebu City Councilor Gabriel Leyson, who is forging ties with opposition leaders, has already declared his intention to run for mayor in 2007.
The mayoralty bid of Leyson is expected to exacerbate the strain between the two cities, following Talisay’s claim over 53.44 hectares of Cebu City’s South Road Properties. (GC)
