NON-GOVERNMENT organizations have endorsed the candidacy of former Cebu City administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez to run for city mayor in the 2022 national and local elections.
Members of the Alliance of Urban Poor (UP-ALL) Cebu and the sectors of housing tenure, women, youth, farmers and other NGOs made the endorsement during a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021.
But Fernandez told SunStar Cebu that while he is honored to be endorsed by these groups, he has yet to decide on whether he plans to run for a higher position or not.
“If Mayor Tommy (Osmeña) decides to run for mayor then I won’t compete against him. Also, I am happy with my situation now,” Fernandez added.
Hal Atienza, co-convenor of the Movement for Transformative Politics (MTP)-Gahum sa Katawhan, told reporters that they decided to endorse Fernandez not only because of his work as Osmena’s “little mayor,” but also because of his affinity with the various marginalized sectors in the City.
“During our meetings with our fellow sector groups, we found that the City’s playing field this coming elections is very much open,” Atienza said.
Atienza said based on their initial talks with Fernandez, the latter is “open” to the possibility of actually running for mayor, while also considering the voice of the various sectors.
He said about 50 to 80 percent of the population of the urban poor groups in the City wants Fernandez to run for mayor.
He said they initially wanted Osmeña, who leads Bando-Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), but since the former mayor will not be running for the 2022 elections, Fernandez would be the perfect fit to run for mayor.
Aside from his work as Osmeña’s City Administrator, Fernandez formerly served as head of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor and as an undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The BOPK has yet to formally announce its official slate for the May 2022 local elections, two days before the start of the filing of certificate of candidacy on Oct. 1. (WBS, JKV)