Monday, March 10, 2008 Fortuna-Rama race for league 'won't even be close': Amores
LAPU-LAPU City Vice Mayor Mario Amores yesterday said the race between Michael Rama and Carlo Fortuna for the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP) national presidency won’t even be a close fight.
He said that Fortuna, Mandaue City vice mayor, has consistently enjoyed the trust of many of their colleagues.
“We can see they like him during our meetings, pero basin ug naay gimmick ang Cebu City. We really can’t tell that kay April pa man ang election (but Cebu City might have some tricks, which we cannot see yet since the election is still next month),” Amores said.
He confirmed that Rama visited him last month at the Lapu-Lapu City Hall but he did not assure the Cebu City official of his support.
“Dili lang usa ko para wala’y ma offend, sa election na lang (I will not tell who my bet is, for now. Just wait until the VMLP election),” he said when pressed for his choice.
He downplayed apprehensions that having two Cebuanos running for the same post compromises unity among local officials, saying the election is a VMLP internal affair that does not speak of the kind of politics in Cebu.
Both Rama and Fortuna recently went to Bohol to woo colleagues to vote for them.
While both announced that they will evaluate their chances and that one should later yield to the other, no one seems inclined to do so.
Rama, who recently declined to issue more statements on the issue, has said he always made known his intention to run for VMLP national president for the third time, while Fortuna announced his candidacy just recently.
Fortuna, though, revealed his intention to run in August last year, especially after being endorsed by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, head of the One Cebu party.
Edge
Rama told Sun.Star that their common challenger is Antipolo Vice Mayor Danilo Leyble, who is allegedly being supported by the administration, specifically by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The agency has been accused of conducting surveys about the upcoming VMLP elections while trying to endorse Leyble.
DILG 7 Director Pedro Noval Jr., however, denied they meddled in VMLP affairs.
In a press statement, he said his office did not make any survey to “seek data” on the probability of each candidate’s victory in the April 12 elections. He said it is also untrue that DILG’s top officials ordered them to conduct any survey.
But whoever is telling the truth, Amores said Fortuna’s stint as Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL) national president gives him an edge over Rama in the VMLP presidential race.
He likewise said, though, that Rama’s credentials to lead their organization cannot be questioned, because aside from being a lawyer, the Cebu City vice mayor “has already achieved a lot” in politics. (AIV)
