One Cebu party chooses Duterte, promises 1M votes

Davao Mayor and Presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte (right) and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano during the proclamation rally at the Moriones Plaza in Moriones Tondo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Garcia-led One Cebu has vowed to deliver one million votes for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the local party’s choice for president after dumping Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“Cebuanos would do for Duterte what it did for 2004,” said One Cebu gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia in a statement released on Sunday.

READ: Garcias’ One Cebu Party dumps Binay | One Cebu and Duterte in talks for alliance

While Garcia didn’t mention any name in his statement, he was referring to the one million winning margin that the Cebuanos gave to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she clinched the presidency in 2004 elections.

Cebu City and province have a combined voting population of 2.7 million – the largest number of electorate in the country.

The decision to support Duterte was reached during a meeting with the Davao mayor at Sugbutel in Cebu City on Saturday night.

During the meeting, Garcia said it “became a logical and clear stand for One Cebu to support one of its own, and a Bisaya for President.”

“Kabahan na kayo (My rivals should get scared),” Duterte was quoted as saying in the statement after he was informed of One Cebu’s decision to back him.

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