Tumulak files surprise candidacy for Cebu City Mayor
Councilor David Tumulak has filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor today at the Comelec office in Cebu City, which surprised everyone. | Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A sudden twist to Cebu City’s brewing political battle for 2022 elections came as Councilor David Tumulak filed his candidacy for City Mayor on October 7, 2021.
Tumulak filed his candidacy shortly after having his certificate blessed in a Mass presided by Archbishop Jose Palma.
The councilor arrived in the afternoon with a few staff unannounced as he declared his intent to run.
He has never signified his desire to run for top executive position in the days leading to the filing, which is the reason why his candidacy came as a surprise.
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Tumulak explained that he would want to give the Cebuanos a choice for real change, not from the same political families.
He is referring to the Osmeña and Rama clans who will be fighting head on for the mayorship with Margot Osmeña and Vice Mayor Michael Rama serving as standard bearers for their respective parties.
“We want to give our Cebuanos a choice. Lisod kaayo nga magpabilin nga ingani atong sitwasyon, kinahanglan nga kita tanan maghiusa,” he said.
(We want to give our Cebuanos a choice. It will be difficult if our situation will remain this way, we all need to be united.)
He was officially nominated by a national party, which he did not reveal, but he turned down the nomination and decided to simply run independently.
Tumulak has been serving three straight terms as councilor since 2013, and he served as First Councilor of the city from 2013 to 2019.
He used to be a member of Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) but turned independent after winning his last term in 2019.
The councilor admits that his biggest challenge is to finance a city-wide campaign, but he hopes his supporters can help him spread his message to the public.
He said his campaign might be underwhelming as compared to the bigger parties in the city, but he hoped the public would see his sincerity and desire for service.
Tumulak told Cebu City residents that it’s time to put their trust on someone new, someone who was not from a ruling clan or family, and someone whose public service had already been proven and tested.
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