A LOCAL chief executive of one of the towns under Cebu’s third district has thrown his support behind the tandem of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (BBM) and Sara Duterte-Carpio for president and vice president in the May 9, 2022 elections.
This now gives the district at least three presidential bets to back just two weeks after an official declared that the district would unite behind a single bet.
Mayor Glenn Baricuatro of Pinamungajan town is under the district led by Deputy House Speaker Pablo John “PJ” Garcia, who supports the presidential bid of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso.
Baricuatro said the decision to support the UniTeam leadership was not his own, but that of the party to which he belongs.
“This is a One Cebu party decision after consultation,” Baricuatro said Thursday, April 28, 2022.
The Pinamungajan mayor told SunStar Cebu that One Cebu leader Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia had always looked after them, and she was backing the UniTeam alliance of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio.
“She keeps in touch with us,” Baricuatro said of the governor.
Last April 12, One Cebu announced its support for the BBM-Sara tandem during the political party’s general assembly to which officials of the seven local government units (LGU) in Cebu’s third district were not invited.
Earlier in the day, the ruling party had announced its decision to endorse Marcos, prompting PJ, the governor’s younger brother, to step down as One Cebu secretary-general to avoid a conflict of interest as he was supporting Moreno.
A day after the assembly, Provincial Board Member John Ismael “Jimbo” Borgonia (Cebu, 3rd district) told SunStar Cebu that as officials from the third district, they would follow PJ on who he would support.
But Barili Mayor Julieto Flores has expressed his support for the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo.
Robredo thanked him personally for this during the Ceboom: Cebu Grand People’s Rally 2.0 held last April 21 in Mandaue City to show the Cebuanos’ support for Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
The third district LGUs are the towns of Barili, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, Balamban, Asturias, Tuburan and Toledo City.
Undecided
On Thursday, Asturias Mayor Jose Antonio Pintor also said he would decide on whom to support after the governor’s visit on April 30.
Pintor said Representative Garcia had given them the freedom to choose whether they would support Moreno or another candidate.
“One Cebu mi -naalign (kay wala man mi ni-resign). Nanawag si Congressman PJ ug niingon nga dili tamo pugson kon asa mo. Moari man si Gov (Gwen) karong Abril 30 sa Asturias. Anha na ko mo-decide human sa visit ni Gov,” Pintor said.
(We are aligned with One Cebu because we did not resign. Congressman PJ called and said he would not force us to go with his pick. Since Gov (Gwen) will come to Asturias on April 30, I will decide after her visit.)
Toledo City Mayor Marjorie Perales has chosen not to comment on Baricuatro’s decision to support a presidential bet not supported by their congressman.
Moreno’s proclamation rally in Cebu was held earlier this month in Toledo City and attended by thousands of people in the third district.
SunStar sought the comment of the other third district mayors, Alex Binghay of Balamban, Danilo Diamante of Tuburan, and Cesar Ignatius Moreno of Aloguinsan, but they had not answered their cellphones as of press time.