ONE Cebu still has yet to endorse a vice presidential candidate, but one of its allies said a number of mayors want Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of the opposition party Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).
Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay said this yesterday but refused to disclose the names of the other mayors, saying he will only reveal them once they have “already discussed it seriously.”
Provincial Board (PB) Member Jose Maria Gastardo, a known supporter of Binay, said he is aware of the mayors’ expression of support, but also chose not to identify them.
Gastardo said the City of Makati has a list of 14 towns and cities in Cebu Province with whom it has a sisterhood agreement. Some of these are Talisay City, Dalaguete, Barili, Pinamungahan, Toledo, Tuburan, Bogo, Tabogon, Sta. Fe, Compostela, Liloan and Consolacion.
Barili Mayor Teresito Mariñas said his personal preference is Binay because of their ongoing relationship under the sisterhood agreement. But he said he will still wait for Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s go-signal, as head of One Cebu.
In November, One Cebu endorsed Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential aspirant Atty. Gilberto Teodoro Jr., but has yet to announce who it will support for the vice presidency.
Mariñas said Barili has made at least three requests to the Makati mayor: an ambulance, calamity assistance and computers. They are still waiting for the aid’s release, though.
“So far, out of the three requests, none has been released,” he said in a phone interview. The Barili–Makati sisterhood agreement started in April 2009.
In Binghay’s case, he said his endorsement of Binay is final, because he believes in the Makati mayor’s good governance and humility.
“It’s final because she (Governor Garcia) told us she will not impose her choice on us,” Binghay said.
Binghay said he informed the governor that he is for Binay and the governor “just smiled when I said that.”
“Mayor Binay is a local chief executive like us and most of us like his style of governance,” he said, adding that Binay is a “very humble guy.”
Interviewed after the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting last Thursday at the Capitol, Garcia said choosing a vice presidential candidate and making it public is not yet in her order of priorities.
Asked if she will give the mayors a free hand to choose their candidates for vice president, she said she has never imposed her choices on the mayors.
One Cebu spokesperson Atty. Rory Jon Sepulveda said there’s no formal endorsement yet from their party. He, however, also said that once they take a position on who among the national candidates to support, all members of the administration party will follow. (RSA)