Wednesday, March 05, 2008 Most Cebu VMs supporting Carlo?
MANDAUE City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna has the support of majority of the vice mayors in Central Visayas, Balamban Vice Mayor Ace Binghay, president of the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP) in Cebu, said yesterday.
There are about 200 vice mayors in the entire region, who form part of the over 1,600 vice mayors who will be involved in the national league elections previously scheduled for April 2.
“The league is independent. This is not a contest between the city and the province,” added Binghay, referring to insinuations that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is behind Fortuna’s candidacy.
Garcia also said that it would be an insult to the league and to Fortuna’s credentials if she dictated who should and shouldn’t run for the national presidency.
Chance
“We cannot fault the vice mayors in throwing their support behind one who stands a good chance (of winning) because he has already served and proven that he could win a national election of a league and who does not have the baggage of having previously lost not once, but twice,” said Garcia.
Fortuna was the national president of the Philippine Councilors’ League.
The governor explained that she supported Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama in his previous attempts to run for the national league presidency.
“I thought before that he would have a chance; in fact I really, really supported him in his previous attempts. But it seems that vice mayors have minds of their own and he was proven to be unelectable,” said Garcia.
While the Rama-Fortuna contest is not a City Hall-Capitol competition, Garcia did say that Cebu City only translates to one vote, while Cebu Province has 51. Binghay, though, hopes that there is still a chance to unite the two candidates.
“We’ll talk about ways on how to make a One Cebu out of this. But there is no assurance that one of them will slide,” said Binghay.
Garcia also answered Rama’s statement that the governor should stick to her principle of One Cebu, which is the party that Garcia founded.
“Wala man ko kahinumdum nga duna miy miyembro nga ginganlan og Mike Rama. Apan if he would like to join us, he is welcome to apply. Of course he would have to pass through the evaluation of our executive board,” said Garcia.
“As to the oneness of Cebu, I completely agree with him. We should really support just one candidate. And we should support the better one or the best one,” she also said.
Endorsed
While there is no formal endorsement from the league, Binghay also said that Fortuna enjoys the majority’s support among Cebu’s vice mayors, including himself.
Fortuna last year confirmed reports that he was being prodded to run for the VMLP national presidency.
“Yes, the governor is endorsing me, and I feel honored. As a member of the One Cebu party, which the governor heads, I will abide,” he said in an interview during the Sun.Star Economic Forum last Aug. 23.
Binghay yesterday defended the governor, saying, “She didn’t meddle, unlike the DILG.”
The VMLP Cebu earlier signed a resolution condemning the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for allegedly endorsing a candidate from Antipolo City for the league presidency.
DILG 7, though, has denied the allegation.
Robbed
In a separate interview, Vice Mayor Rama said he is glad the Cebu Provincial Board came up with a resolution denouncing the DILG for trying to intervene in the VMLP’s upcoming national election.
And while he would not stop any Cebu City councilors from proposing a similar measure, Rama said he will not influence the body to take the cudgels for him by passing a related resolution.
In a press conference yesterday, Rama also said that while he lost when he first ran for VMLP president, he won the second time.
But, he said, he was “robbed of my victory” after the outgoing officials continued to serve in a holdover capacity because of unsettled issues during the election.
On the alleged meddling by the DILG, Rama said the candidate himself, Antipolo City Vice Mayor Danilo Leyble, validated that he was being prodded to run.
Rama said that Leyble was part of his “loose ticket” formed last year, and that Leyble had agreed to run for a lower position when they talked during the national board meeting last October.
Agenda
If he wins this time, Rama said he will implement his nine-point agenda, which includes continuing learning and capability enhancement for all vice mayors and the adoption of a uniform procedure in coding ordinances and resolutions.
Fortuna, for his part, said it is not a question of who was the first to signify one’s intention to run.
“It is a question of winnability or who is the more formidable candidate,” the 36-year old vice mayor said.
Fortuna’s reaction followed Rama’s comment that the Cebu City vice mayor was the first to signify his intention to run last year.
After that, however, Fortuna was elected as vice president of the Vice Mayors’ League in Cebu, where Rama is a member, and during a meeting with Governor Garcia, his name was floated for the league’s national presidency.
Trips?
“Who would not be honored by an endorsement coming from the highest official of the province?” said Fortuna.
When asked to react to radio reports that he sponsored the trips of vice mayors from Siquijor, Oriental Negros and Bohol in a recent meeting here in Cebu to gain their support, the first-term vice mayor said he has no money to do that.
“My being, my person, who I am, the name that I have established for myself can stand on its own and debunk whatever allegations are hurled against me,” said Fortuna. (JGA/RHM/OCP)
