THE general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Wednesday has bid goodbye to congressional race in the second district of Oriental Mindoro.
In a statement circulated to media, MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi said he made his decision after “close consultations” with his family, colleagues at the MIAA and constituents in Oriental Mindoro and “deep soul-searching.”
"We are considering another position where we can continue serving the national interest and we are truly fortunate to have been given this opportunity. Politics can wait but we cannot turn our back on this singular chance to continue serving the Filipino people in the best way we can," he said.
Cusi added he will continue to serve the people of Mindoro through the Sandugo Party whom he thanked “for making the decision-making process less painful for us.”
With this, Cusi will no longer quit as MIAA general manager.
The resignation should have been in deference to the finality of a Supreme Court (SC) decision Tuesday that deemed appointive officials resigned upon filing of their certificates of candidacy (COC).
Cusi should have joined the six-way contest if he did not withdraw.
The other contenders are Liberal Party's Reynaldo Umali, Bureau of Customs deputy commissioner; Partido ng Masang Pilipino's Ephraim Salcedo, father of former President Joseph Estrada's spokesperson Margaux Salcedo; Anthony Yap of the Nacionalista Party; former vice-governor and Securities and Exchange Commission member Thaddeus Venturanza from Lakas-Kampi-CMD; Edmund Dante Janda of Aksyon and independent Benrome Abao.
The second district of Oriental Mindoro is composed of the municipalities of Bansud, Bongabong, Bulalacao, Gloria, Mansalay, Pinamalayan and Roxas.
The district has a population of about 335,000 in 2007. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)