Friday, March 30, 2007 Leyson files COC for Talisay mayor
WITH hopes for progress in Talisay City, the team of mayoralty aspirant Gabriel Leyson filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) yesterday.
Clad in yellow polo shirts, the Leyson-led Lakas-NUCD bets arrived at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office past 3 p.m. to the cheers of supporters, including curious City Hall employees.
“We just decided to wear yellow...it signifies progress,” said Leyson.
Prominent among the Lakas candidates are reelectionist opposition Councilors Alan Bucao, Emil Go and Ignacio Luis Jordana.
Two hours later, the group of mayoralty contender Johnny V. delos Reyes and his seven candidates for councilor also came in full force at the Comelec.
Delos Reyes has no running mate but among his bets for councilor is 75-year-old former city legislator Severino Tabasa.
Leyson said his group will closely watch the poll precincts and the counting of votes following reports that “miracles” can happen during election day. He was referring to the infamous “dagdag-bawas” scheme, which he said could be implemented if his group will not be vigilant.
Leyson said that a priest, who celebrated their 5 a.m. mass in Talisay, also reminded them of the need to protect the people’s votes on May 14.
Rumors
Leyson also announced that former Talisay mayor Dehlia Tiu has given way to the vice mayoralty bid of Lani Abarquez. He assured, though, that Tiu will have a big role in the city’s urban poor program if he gets elected this May.
The group of reelectionist Mayor Socrates Fernandez and his slate are seen to be formidable opponents in the elections because of the backing of Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district).
There were talks last night that Gullas will instead run for mayor and his son son Gerald Anthony “Didi” Gullas will vie for the congressional seat.
Gullas, when called up last night, laughed and said, “Where did they get such weird ideas? Why, are they sure Soc will lose? If Didi says he will not run, he will not run.”
But there are also observations that Leyson’s team is not a pushover, as it was able to unite prominent opposition leaders in Talisay.
Also, Leyson, a scion of the landed Velez-Leyson clan, reportedly has a well-oiled political machinery to match the logistics of Fernandez’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).
For her part, Abarquez confirmed that she was courted by the camp of Gullas to be a Provincial Board bet in the first district, through reelectionist Cebu Vice Gov. Greg Sanchez.
Too late
Abarquez, Sanchez’s chief of staff, said she would have considered the offer had it been made a year before the elections.
“It was too late because it was relayed to me barely two months before the elections,” she said.
Abarquez also defended Leyson on the issue that he is not a pure Talisaynon.
She said that Gullas, whom she hinted was a non-Talisaynon, ran and won in the city’s mayoralty race in the 2001 polls.
Abarquez said they already came up with a 10-point agenda for their platform of government.
Foremost among these are health, education, livelihood for women and urban poor, social services, a drainage system and infrastructure projects.
Today, Leyson’s team will start the campaign period with courtesy calls on government offices at the new City Hall. (GC
