Cavite’s Magdalo party to join Hugpong alliance

Sara Duterte PHOTO FROM HNP MEDIA

Partido Magdalo of Cavite province is set to join the list of local political parties forging an alliance with the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) led by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for the 2019 local elections.

Cavite Gov. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, who chairs Partido Magdalo, said the looming partnership would be discussed and finalized with its members “within the next two weeks.”

“Yes, I see it coming,” Remulla told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Monday.

Partido Magdalo, which was founded by Remulla patriarch and former Gov. Juanito Remulla Sr., dominates politics in Cavite, a vote-rich province with 1.84 million registered voters in 2016. It is different from the Magdalo party-list group that is represented in the House of Representatives by Rep. Gary Alejano.

‘One Cavite’

Partido Magdalo’s membership counts officials who belong to different national parties like Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP) and Nacionalista Party (NP), but ran under the local banner, “One Cavite.”

Remulla, a member of NP, said the only officials who were not part of the Cavite alliance were the Abayas, headed by Rep. Francis Abaya of the first congressional district, who stayed with the Liberal Party.

Jesus Crispin Remulla

Though it labels itself as a regional political party based in the Davao region, HNP has forged alliances with several other parties in a short span of time.

On Aug. 13, HNP entered into a coalition with NP, NPC and NUP, and six local parties.

Remulla said he had yet to talk with Mayor Duterte, daughter of President Duterte, due to conflict in their schedules but he was optimistic about the coalition.

Same page

“[After all] we are on the same page with the President,” he said.

In the 2016 presidential election, the Remullas supported the bid of then Vice President Jejomar Binay of United Nationalist Alliance, with Remulla’s brother and former governor, Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla, even serving as Binay’s spokesperson.

The Remullas eventually dropped Binay for Mr. Duterte, then Davao City mayor and candidate of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.