Barug PDP-Laban standard-bearers, Acting Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Raymond Garcia, who will be running as mayor and vice mayor respectively, have filed their candidacies today.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The candidates of Barug PDP-Laban in coalition with Kugi Uswag Sugbo (KUSUG) and Panaghiusa have filed their candidacies on the last day of the filing on October 8, 2021.
The group was led by incumbent Vice Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Raymond Garcia, who are running for mayor and vice mayor, respectively.
Supporters guarded the barricades of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with the police closely monitoring the social distancing protocols.
The candidates arrived by batches and the first to file at 8 a.m. was incumbent Councilor Joel Garganera, who is seeking reelection and sporting the red colors of KUSUG.
He said he needed to file early because he had scheduled a meeting at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) where he leads as deputy chief implementor.
Councilorial candidates for the North followed including reelectionist Jerry Guardo; former Councilors Jun Alcover and Noel Wenceslao; Jaypee Labella, the mayor’s son; Dr. Peter Mancao; Melvin Legaspi; and Maria Pino.
Simultaneously, the South District councilorial candidates filed their own COCs including reelectionists, James Cuenco and Renato “Junjun” Osmeña; Tourism Commissioner Jocelyn Pesquera, City Legal Officer Rey Gealon, and village chiefs, Francis Esparis and Harry Eran.
Incumbent Councilors Niña Mabatid and Eduardo Rama, Jr., filed their candidacies after the aspiring councilors, and they were followed by the party’s standard-bearers, Rama and Garcia.
The last to file were guest candidates, incumbent Councilors Donaldo Hontiveros and Philip Zafra, who were represented by their lawyers in the filing.
Hontiveros graced the Comelec office for a short while upon filing. Both are running as independents.
“Having filed our Certificates of Candidacy earlier today now leads us towards the base we have laid on the table, start to shape and define our platform and strengthen our organization down the ground,” Rama said.
“Definitely, our coalition will continue our efforts even before the elections to liberate Cebu City from the bondage of the prevailing pandemic, shift our vaccination campaign to a higher gear to achieve herd immunity,” added Rama. /rcg
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