Dungga, Danao City Barangay Captain Telesforo Durano takes an oath of allegiance to the camp of Rep. Duke Frasco. | Photo courtesy of Duke Frasco Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least four barangay officials in Danao City, the bailiwick of the Durano clan, have jumped ship and pledged allegiance to the rival camp of Fifth District Representative Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, Frasco shared on his Facebook page the photos of Dungga Barangay Captain Telesforo Durano, his councilmen Daniel Alerta and Juanita Lawas, and Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman Remond Lavador as they took their oath with Frasco’s camp.
The oath-taking happened after Frasco, his wife and Liloan Mayor Christina Frasco, Board Member Andre Duterte, and party mate Mike Villamor distributed relief goods and hygiene kits in the different towns in the district last Saturday, May 23.
Durano and the other barangay officials are former members of Partidong Barug Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (Bakud) of the Durano clan in the fifth district, currently chaired by Danao City Mayor Ramon Durano III.
Mayor Durano and Partidong Bakud has yet to issue an official statement as of this writing.
In a statement, Barangay Captain Durano said he decided to pledge allegiance to Frasco as he sought for “change” in government service.
“Dugay nang naghandum ang katawhan [og] kausaban. Among nakita na sa pagpanerbisyo ni Kongresman Frasco, makapanghinaut mi na amo na gyung matagamtaman ang pag-uswag sa among barangay,” Barangay Captain Durano said.
(Our people have longed for change for a long time, which we saw in Congressman Frasco’s governance and we hope that this time, we will be able to see progress for our barangay.)
Barangay Dungga is a hinterland village located some 20 kilometers from the city’s central district.
To recall, Frasco is the first non-Durano to be elected as the representative of the fifth district in 70 years. The district is composed of the towns of Liloan, Compostela, Carmen, Catmon, Borbon, Sogod, Pilar, Poro, San Francisco, and Tudela, and Danao City.
READ: HRET orders collection of ballots in relation to Durano vs. Frasco electoral protest
In 2019, Frasco won the seat against former representative Ramon “Red” Durano VI by a margin of 36,000 votes. An electoral protest is still pending before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET). /bmjo