Ace Durano (left) and Gwen Garcia (right). | file photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Gubernatorial candidate Joseph Felix Mari ‘Ace’ Durano has called out his opponent, incumbent Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
Durano tagged Garcia as ‘fake news’ after the latter reportedly made a pronouncement in national TV that the former has been spreading ‘rumors’ that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio endorsed him as the next governor of Cebu.
“I have never, in any of my pulong-pulong, claimed that Davao City Mayor Inday Sara endorsed me already,” Durano said in a statement sent to the media.
He clarified that Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago (PPP), the political party which he belonged to, is only endorsing the possible Presidential bid of Duterte-Carpio.
“I was chosen by PPP to be regional chairman for the Visayas and their gubernatorial bet for Cebu. It’s the national officers of the party that’s in talks with President Duterte and Mayor Inday,” Durano explained.
“That’s the fact. The governor should get her facts straight before she speaks, especially on national media. We’re at a time when we’re trying to advocate against fake news. But it’s difficult if the fake news is coming from a government official,” he added.
Garcia recently appeared in a live interview with ANC anchor Karen Davila.
Davila asked Garcia, a reelectionist under One Cebu and the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), about her meeting with Presidential candidate and former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bong-Bong’ Marcos Jr. last October.
Garcia reiterated that One Cebu has no Presidential bet, and that the local party would only announce by November 15, the last day of substitution for filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
“Actually the reverse is true. They were both supporting me as the gubernatorial candidate for the 2022 elections,” Garcia told Davila.
It can be recalled that during the ‘coincidental’ visit of Duterte-Carpio and Marcos last October, photos of their meeting with the Garcias went viral.
One of the images showed the Presidential Daughter and Marcos raising their hands together with the governor, sparking speculations online that included the possibility of Garcia endorsing the two for next year’s Presidential race.
Duterte-Carpio, seeking reelection as the mayor of Davao City, has withdrawn her certificate of candidacy (COC).
She nominated her brother, Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte, as her substitute.
/bmjo
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