Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas meets with City Health officials. | Photo Courtesy of Samsam Gullas FB page.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas has withdrawn his candidacy for Cebu First District Representative to run for reelection as mayor.
Cebu Provincial Elections Supervisor, Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, announced this on November 12, 2021, which was a few days before the end of the substitution and withdrawal of candidates on November 15, 2021.
Castillano said Samsam withdrew his candidacy at around 8 a.m. on Friday, and shortly after, the mayor’s wife, Rhea Gullas, submitted her candidacy for First District Representative.
It can be noted that Samsam did not have an opponent for First District Representative, assuring his party the spot in Congress.
With Rhea taking over, she is already assured of the seat in Congress as long as she gets a single vote during election.
Consequently, the Talisay City Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed that Rhea has withdrawn her candidacy as mayor of Talisay City at also around 8 a.m. Shortly after, Samsam submitted his candidacy for reelection.
This surprising twist came during the ongoing tensions between Mayor Gullas and his now political rival, Vice Mayor Allan Bucao, over why the administration party chose Rhea as the candidate for mayor.
Recently, Bucao also alleged that the mayor had removed job order employees that he had endorsed. The vice mayor has yet to issue a statement regarding this apparent swap in candidacies.
Gullas plans to address his constituents in a video within the day.
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