It was only a half-hour “meet and greet” for Rep. Leni Robredo with a mixed group of Cebu town and city mayors at the Capitol yesterday.
She didn’t ask for their support as vice presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, but she told them how much she loves Cebu.
Gov. Hilario Davide III, who accompanied her as she went around shaking each mayor’s hand, didn’t make a hard pitch for their votes either.
Rep. Leni Robredo is welcomed by students at the USC Main Campus where she talked about the rewards of “alternative lawyering” by serving marginalized sectors instead of paying clients.
The mayors included Alayon members in the 1st district and Bakud mayors of the 5th district whose support for a vice presidential candidate is still up in the air.
Nevertheless, Robredo said she the gesture of coming together was significant.
“I am thankful for the support that we are getting across party lines. This seldom happens, but it seems so many of our local leaders really set aside their differences for unity. This is a big thing,” she told reporters before leaving the Capitol.
Governor Davide, LP Cebu chairman, who has to do a balancing act in the towns, said the meeting was simply to acquaint mayors with Robredo.
The Gullas-led Alayon Party in the 1st district already announced their support for LP standard bearer Mar Roxas, as a “personal choice” of former Rep. Eduardo Gullas as well as the re-election bids of Davide and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale. Their no. 2 slot, however, is still being discussed.
“For now, there is none (vice presidential candidate) yet. We are here because we support the governor. We are just showing our support,” said Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura of Alayon in the 1st district.
Apura is seeking re-election against LP bet, Provincial Board Member Raul Alcoseba.
Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes, the only LP incumbent in the 1st district, was not present.
De los Reyes is the only LP incumbent left in the district after San Fernando Mayor Antonio Canoy left the party for the National People’s Coalition (NPC) last month.
5TH DISTRICT
From the 5th district, Danao City Vice Mayor Ramon “Red” Durano VI said they have not yet decided on which presidential or vice presidential bet to support.
“Right now, we are just looking at all the candidates. There are many of them. So, it’s not wise as a party to really jump into whom to support. We need to look at the candidates first and get to them before we decide,” he said.
Last month, Senators Grace Poe and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who are running for president and vice president, respectively, visited Danao City and met with BAKUD leaders.
Durano said it was only a consultative meeting with the mayors.
BAKUD’s presence yesterday, he added, was only to “meet and greet” Robredo.
“So far, they’re the only ones (Poe, Escudero, and Robredo) who came to us. But they didn’t really ask for support,” said Durano.
Despite 5th District Rep. Ace Durano being the NPC provincial chairman in Cebu and the campaign manager of Poe, BAKUD is not allied with any national party.
“We had an alliance in 2013 with the LP, but it was only for the 2013 elections. This coming election, we do not have an alliance with a national party. But of course, here in local politics, we are supporting the re-election bids of Governor Davide and Vice Governor Magpale,” he said.
Durano, who is presently acting mayor, left before Robredo arrived at the Capitol because he still had a meeting to catch in Danao City in the afternoon.
In 2016, he will be running for congressman in the 5th district, replacing Ace.
LP STRENGTH
As of May this year, 33 of 51 mayors in Cebu are allied with the LP.
This does not include 9 out of 10 towns in the 5th district, which are in an alliance with the LP at the local level.
Asked what her projects for Cebu would be should she be elected as vice president, the congresswoman said she will not only bring development to the province, but to the whole Philippines as well.
“Development is making sure nobody gets left behind. In the last five years, we’ve experienced such growth. But we need projects that will ensure that the marginalized sectors will grow with the rest of the country—nobody will be left behind, nobody will be hungry, everyone will be given equal opportunities,” said Robredo.
The congresswoman said she does not want to single out Cebu.
However, she said she would like to look into the issues surrounding the business process outsourcing industry, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual (LGBT) community, and the environmental movement.
Also present were some incumbent LP mayors in the rest of the province and former Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, among others.