ITS still a year and half before the May 2019 midterm elections but the “political pot” in Cebu City is now boiling. This, after Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella has signified his intention to throw his “political hat” into the mayoralty race.
Labella is now the city’s chairman of the administration party, Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). Though, he remains in Team Rama as his local party, Labella’s former running mate, “has-been mayor” Michael Rama tried to “defuse” the tension between him and the vice mayor saying they will discuss the development within the party.
I received recently a two-page manifesto signed by supporters of President Duterte here and by a group that call themselves “Labella for Mayor (L4M) Movement.” They urged Labella to run for mayor as he is the only one who possess the qualifications to challenge the leadership of the present City Hall occupant whom they describe as having “no heart for the Cebuanos.”
Here’s the contents of manifesto of support:
“We are a multisectoral group composed of professionals, businessmen, leaders and supporters that campaigned for President Rodrigo Duterte in Cebu, millennials and concerned citizens. We believe in transparency, good government and the respect for the rule of law.
“It is for this reason that our group has expressed its unswerving support for a person that embodies the foregoing ideals and traits. Thus, we are strongly urging Vice Mayor Edgardo C. Labella to seriously consider running for mayor of Cebu City in 2019.
“We strongly believe that Vice Mayor Labella is the right man for the job as his qualifications, extensive experience and his immaculate record of government service has earned him the right to run for the top post of the city. We are respectfully but strongly appealing to him that he will heed his sense of public duty towards the Cebuano community that he has sworn to service as a public servant.
“Cebu City is in dire need of his able and unifying leadership, his selfless dedication for public service, his indefatigable industry, his realistic vision, his focus, his drive for a corruption-free government, his sheer and genuine humility as public official.
“Now is the time for needed change, the archaic and traditional way of elitist controlled government must give way to progressive ideas that serve the interest of the vast majority of our people who have grown tired and weary of the same old way of politicking by the usual names in politics who are only engaged in self-promotion.
“Change is taking place in the national scene. It would be a tragedy if Cebu City would be left behind. We believe that Vice Mayor Labella is the key to positive change in Cebu City in tune with the national program for development. Labella for mayor is not just an option. It is the only timely realistic choice’, the manifesto read.”
Let’s us see if Labella will be swayed by this manifesto.