JVR stays with LP despite withdrawing support from Mar and Leni
A ripped poster of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo, now hangs at an area along the Tabunok Public Market in Talisay City, right in front of the tarpauline of reelectionist Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes, who has just withdrawn his support from the Roxas-Robredo tandem. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
TALISAY City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes will remain a member of Liberal Party (LP) and run for reelection under the administration party even if he and his slate will no longer support LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.
De los Reyes and his team, still smarting from the “snub” by Roxas during the LP grand rally in Mandaue City on Thursday, said they will decide by next week who between Vice President Jejomar of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of
PDP-Laban they will support for president in the May 9 elections.
“Sa makauna lang nila (Whomever will approach us first),” he told Cebu Daily News.
When asked what he would do if the party would decide to kick him out of LP for withdrawing their support for its standard-bearer, De los Reyes declined to comment.
De los Reyes, on Friday night, told CDN that his group decided to continue supporting the reelection bids of Gov. Hilario Davide III and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale.
But in another interview yesterday afternoon, De los Reyes said there is now a possibility they would also drop Davide and Magpale.
“It depends on who will be our new presidential and vice-presidential candidates… if they have their own bets,” he said.
He said his group was still undecided on their senatorial slate, indicating they might not carry all of LP’s senatorial candidates.
De los Reyes also said they are still debating their choice for vice president although he said a representative from the camp of vice-presidential aspirant Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos had asked to meet with him next week.
De los Reyes and his team decided to drop Roxas after the LP standard-bearer chose to recognize former first district Rep. Eduardo Gullas, the head of the local party Alayon who attended the LP rally with his group of local candidates in the first district.
De los Reyes and Gullas are both running for mayor of Talisay City.
The Alayon group, who were clad in green, were the only ones wearing green in a sea of yellow, the color of LP.
The same sentiment was shared by the group of City of Naga mayoral candidate Venci Del Mar who, together with his slate, bolted from LP on Friday and joined the local opposition party One Cebu headed by its gubernatorial candidate, Winston Garcia.
Del Mar said they decided to switch alliances because Davide turned a deaf ear to their objections over the governor’s decision to declare the first congressional district a free zone between the LP and Alayon candidates.
Del Mar said he was surprised and hurt when he found out that Davide has been attending the meetings of his opponent for the mayoral race, Christine Chiong, the daughter of outgoing Mayor Valdemar Chiong.
(Davide) did not make a clear decision whom he wants to support,” said Del Mar.
Del Mar, an incumbent councilor of the city, has been an LP member since 2014.
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