WITH no one to contest his candidacy, today’s election for the presidency of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) in Cebu province will be a mere formality for Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, former Bogo city mayor.
He will claim the ABC presidency by default, making him an ex-officio member of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB).
Martinez won as barangay chairman of Cayang, Bogo City last November.
He will replace Jose Ribomapil Holganza Jr. in the PB.
Holganza was eligible for another term as ABC president but opted to run instead for a seat in the federation’s board of directors.
“We got to talk and agreed that we will not run against each other. Instead, we will just coordinate with each other for continuity of the federation’s projects,” Martinez said.
Martinez ran and lost to Rep. Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th district in last May’s elections.
Last August agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) came looking for him to serve an arrest warrang against him and his mother , former congresswoman Clavel Asas-Martinez and former municipal treasurer Rhett Minguez.
The three were ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan for the malversation of government funds of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) which was deposited in Clavel’s private bank account.
But Tining and his mother were not at their homes in the cities of Cebu and Bogo when the NBI visited.
His father Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez, Jr. later showed an order from the Sandiganbayan Second Division to suspend the arrest warrants against his wife and son after all three respondents filed a motion to dismiss charges against them.
The graft case is still pending in the Sandiganbayan.
Today as the incoming ABC president, Martinez assured the ABC’s support for the administration of Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.
“Whatever programs the governor has, we will try to complement that because the barangays are part of the larger picture of development,” Martinez said.