Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella (right), running for mayor, and former Mayor Michael Rama (center), running as vice mayor, will be leading the slate for Partido Barug on the upcoming May 13 elections. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The campaign period for local candidates will start on Friday, March 29 and Cebu City’s opposition camp, Partido Barug, is choosing a more solemn welcome to the elections.
Erik Espina, spokesperson for Partido Barug, and a candidate for councilor of the South District, told Cebu Daily News Digital that they would start their campaign on Friday with a call to God.
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“It will be a simple and traditional kick-off starting with a Mass kay syempre (because) we want to seek the guidance of God in our campaign” said Espina in a phone interview.
Afterwards, the Partido Barug candidates will share a breakfast at the office of Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who will be running as Mayor and the standard bearer of Barug-Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
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Espina said that this would give time for the candidates to prepare for the “long procession ahead” that would last until the 13th of May.
The candidates of the North and South Districts will later be going on different campaigns to focus on their districts.
“Magshake hands sila in their own districts na. (They will start shaking hands of the constituents in their own districts) We will inform the supporters probably within this week as to where they can wait for the candidates,” said Espina.
Espina admitted that they could not offer much of their services and platforms because of the limited the resources of Barug.
“Of course, as the opposition and the minority, we do not have the machinery of the City Hall,” he said.
The approach of Barug for this year’s campaign would be to reach the people directly and communicate their intentions in the purest possible way.
“If tuyuon gyod ka sa tawo, makadaog gyod ka, bisan pag wala kay kwarta parehas kang President Duterte sa una,” said Espina.
(If the people will really support you, then you can win even if you don’t have money like what happened to President Duterte when he ran for the presidency.)
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Espina also said that the endorsement of both President Rodrigo Duterte, who chairs PDP-Laban, and his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who chairs the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), would boost their campaign.
He said that the approval rating of the President remains high, topping at 81 percent in the January 11 Pulse Asia Survey.
Espina said he was banking on the high trust people with regards to the President to reflect on his endorsed candidates including Partido Barug.
On May 24, President Duterte raised the hands of Labella and running mate for vice mayor, Mike Rama, during the campaign sortie of PDP-Laban at the Plaza Independencia.
Similarly, on March 21, the younger Duterte, Inday Sara, raised the hand of Barug candidates during the HNP senatorial caravan at the IEC Pavillion.
Espina said he was hoping that the Cebuanos would also support Partido Barug like the way that they supported President Duterte in 2016./dbs