A local official allied with the Garcia-led One Cebu party in previous polls will be running under the Liberal Party (LP) in the 2016 national election.
Provincial Board (PB) Member Joven Mondigo Jr. last Wednesday confirmed his bid to run for mayor in Medellin town, northern Cebu.
“My plan is to bring the town closer to the Capitol. What’s happening there is that the present administration has created a wall, instead of a bridge, between the town and the Capitol,” he told reporters.
In the wake of Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013, Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez accused the Capitol of excluding his town in relief and rehabilitation efforts, saying that the administration was “politicizing” the situation.
Medellin was among the worst-hit towns in northern Cebu.
Ramirez, a member of the National Unity Party (NUP) and allied with One Cebu, has been very vocal about his sentiments against the provincial government since then.
Mondigo, who is now on his last term as PB member, represents Cebu’s fourth district and also ran under NUP in previous elections.
The board member said he is privileged to have been invited to the LP camp over a month ago.
“I want the town to be closer to the Capitol for it to really reap benefits. There should be a working relationship,” said Mondigo.
Mondigo shares representation of the fourth district in the PB with Sun Shimura, also an ally of One Cebu.
He added that he has not spoken with the leaders of One Cebu like former governor Gwendolyn Garcia, but has informed Cebu 4th District Rep. Benhur Salimbangon about his plans.
Salimbangon is NUP’s chairman in the district.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, in a separate interview, said he will set an appointment for Mondigo’s oath-taking to make everything official.
“The oath-taking is only a formality. He has already confirmed that he is going to run under LP,” Davide, who chairs the party in the province, told reporters.
Davide brought Mondigo, among others, with him to Russia last month to strengthen linkages with the city of St. Petersburg.
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