CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Kugi, Uswag Sugbo (Kusog) party, led by Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, is considering endorsing incumbent Congressman Edu Rama for Cebu City’s South District in the 2025 elections.
However, Garcia said he would respect Rama’s political plans.
On October 1, Edu Rama was seen attending Mayor Michael Rama’s Partido Barug coalition event with the Bagong Sugbo Movement of Franklin Ong.
Despite Edu Rama’s presence at the event, Garcia said that Kusog is still open to endorsing him.
Garcia also revealed his recent oath-taking under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the national party of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He clarified, however, that coalition rules may affect their endorsement.
“When we took an oath under Partido Federal, we became part of a coalition with Lakas, among others. The rule is that if there’s an incumbent within the coalition running, we will not field another candidate,” Garcia explained in Cebuano in an interview on October 1.
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In November 2023, Edu Rama shifted political alliances from PDP-Laban, which was aligned with former President Rodrigo Duterte, to the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) under House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The oathtaking was administered by Romualdez in a ceremony at the Office of the Speaker in Batasan Complex, Quezon City.
“Aside from the fact nga amigo kaayo nako si Edu and I have seen him help the City of Cebu, there’s a big chance we will be endorsing Edu Rama for the South District,” he shared.
Meanwhile, for the North District, Garcia confirmed that Kusog remains committed to supporting Congresswoman Rachel ‘Cutie’ del Mar in her bid for re-election in 2025.
As for his political ambitions, Garcia remained coy about officially declaring his candidacy for mayor, despite reports that lawyer Joey Daluz III has already announced plans to run for vice mayor alongside him.
Garcia acknowledged the possibility of their tandem, stating, “We are looking into that. I am the standard-bearer, and he is the vice mayor, so we can really have a formidable team for 2025.”
In case Edu Rama does not run for the South District seat, Garcia mentioned that former city councilor Dave Tumulak is another potential candidate.