Wednesday, September 24, 2008 No Duterte-Nogie face-off in 2010 By Ben O. Tesiorna
POLITICS in Davao City come 2010 will be a ho-hum as Speaker Prospero Nograles publicly declared that he will no longer be seeking any local position and will retire from politics.
Rumors were rife that Nograles will be running for mayor in the coming election once Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte reaches the three-term limit as mayor.
In a press conference last week, Nograles said he will just be supporting his son, lawyer Karlo Nograles, as the next first district representative in 2010.
"Sorry to disappoint you guys but I will not seek any more local position after my term ends," Nograles told reporters.
The first district congressman said instead of running in the election, he will just do his best to ensure his son will win and retain his current position.
"I will help Karlo to win in the elections," he said.
He said it is time for him to say goodbye to politics in 2010 and just allow his son to continue his good programs and projects to his constituents.
"Karlo is now ready to replace me once my term ends in 2010," the congressman said.
Nograles also said that as the head of all congressmen in the Philippines, he will do his best to look for funds to pour in projects for Mindanao.
"Before I end my term as speaker I will do my best to implement many projects for Mindanao," Nograles.
He said getting the chance to become the fourth highest official of the Philippines is such a rare opportunity for any person from Mindanao, which is why he will do his best to provide projects for the Mindanaoans.
"When the house speaker was from Luzon, a lot of projects had been given in the island, now that I am the speaker I will also do the same for Mindanao," Nograles said.
Nograles' declaration, however, raised many eyebrows, as they would not believe that Nograles, who is at the peak of his political career, would so suddenly retire.
Earlier, Nograles said he is more interested on a national position rather than a local one.
Aside from being a Speaker, Nograles also holds a very important position in the administration political party Lakas-CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats) being its president.
