Labella: Inday Sara in Cebu to campaign for HNP Senate bets; no need to raise hands of Barug candidates

LOOK: Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, founding chairperson of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), arrives at the IEC Convention Center for the campaign caravan for the 13 HNP-endorsed senatorial candidates in Cebu on Thursday, March 21, 2019. |CDND Photo/Rosalie O. Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — As expectators were puzzled why the hands of the local candidates of Barug-Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) in Cebu City were not raised by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella clarified that the presidential daughter no longer needed to do such as the affair was solely focused on the presentation of the senatorial bets of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).

“This is an affair for the presentation of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial candidates. And I don’t think there’s a need for our hands to be raised because this is purely and endorsement of Hugpong ng Pagbabago of their senatorial candidates to the constituency of the city of Cebu,” Labella said, who is running for mayor in Cebu City.

He said that their hands were no longer needed to be raised, because President Rodrigo Duterte has already done that when he visited Cebu last February 24, 2019, when PDP-Laban conducted the proclamation rally of its national and local candidates at Plaza Independencia.

Duterte-Carpio was in Cebu on Thursday for HNP’s campaign caravan and to endorse 13 senatorial candidates for the May 13 midterm elections even as  there are only 12 vacant seats in the Senate.

There are senatorial candidates endorsed by HNP who are not backed by PDP-Laban.

Re-electionist Senators Koko Pimentel, JV Ejercito, Cynthia Villar, Jinggoy Estrada and Sonny Angara, former presidential aide Bong Go, former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino, former Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, Maguindanao 2nd District Representative Zajid Mangudadatu, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano were  endorsed by PDP-Laban and HNP.

But PDP Laban is also endorsing folk singer Freddie Aguilar while HNP is endorsing former journalist Jiggy Manicad and former senator and actor Bong Revilla.

“It is all for us to decide. But we are allied with Hugpong (Ng Pagbabago), primarily with Inday Sara,” Labella added.

According to Labella, Barug-PDP-Laban has no plan to endorse their own senatorial bets.

“Kaalyado gyud ta sa Hugpong ng Pagbabago because we have the same advocacies, which is pagbabago or change,” he said, noting that change is also the advocacy of President Duterte./elb