Partido Barug Team Rama, led by preventively suspended Mayor Michael Rama, officially sealed a coalition with Councilor Franklyn Ong’s BagOng Sugbo Movement on Tuesday, October 1. | Photo by: Mike Rama/Facebook
CEBU CITY, Philippines –Partido Barug Team Rama, led by preventively suspended Mayor Michael Rama, officially sealed a coalition with Councilor Franklyn Ong’s BagOng Sugbo Movement on Tuesday, October 1.
The coalition between Partido Barug and BagOng Sugbo Movement included the official announcement of candidates for key city positions.
Franklyn Ong was officially endorsed to run for the congressional seat in Cebu City’s north district, while Donaldo Hontiveros will seek the vice mayoral post.
Meanwhile, Congressman Edu Rama, who is aligned with House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), will run for re-election in the south district under the Partido Barug banner.
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In a statement released on Michael Rama’s official Facebook page on Tuesday, the coalition expressed their shared vision of transforming Cebu City into a “Singapore-like” city with “Melbourne features” through their partnership with Ong’s BagOng Sugbo Movement.
“Ipadayon sa Partido Barug ang katuyuan nga makab-ot ang kinatibuk-ang pangandoy sa mga Sugboanon alang sa usa ka Singapore-like Cebu City with Melbourne features pina-agi sa pakig-alyansa sa BagOng Sugbo Movement,” the statement read.
The signing of the coalition agreement, which was live-streamed on Facebook, was attended by various candidates from the Partido Barug slate for the 2025 midterm elections.
On September 24, Partido Barug introduced its “probable” slate of candidates for the 2025 midterm elections. The unveiled slate includes incumbents such as Jocelyn Pesquera, Noel Wenceslao, Philip Zafra, Francis Esparis, and Rhea Jakosalem.
Meanwhile, Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, the standard bearer of the Kugi, Uswag, Sugbo (Kusug) party, announced in a separate interview on the same day that his party will hold a press conference on October 2. Garcia said they will declare their slate of candidates and formalize their coalition with Partido Panaghiusa, the party revived by former City Councilor Jose “Joey” Daluz III.