Bagatsing blames dad of running mate who ‘left’ him

Manila mayoral candidate and 1st District Rep. Amado Bagatsing remained unfazed by reports that his running mate, Councilor Ali Atienza, had “abandoned” him for one of his rivals, former Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Bagatsing on Friday said Lim’s April 28 announcement of his support for Atienza was “all the work” of the latter’s father, former mayor and now Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza.

“I’m waiting for Ali to make a statement, to talk to me, because he still hasn’t,” Bagatsing told the Inquirer in an interview before addressing about 10,000 supporters at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay, the city of his birth. He was joined in the rally by his nephew, Manila 4th District Councilor DJ Bagatsing.

“It’s (Ali’s) dad talking—but he’s not the one who’s running. Now if they want to row their boat in two rivers, that’s up to them. Me, I’m a man of my word. I’m waiting for (Ali) to clarify matters,” Bagatsing said.

The congressman admitted that he and Atienza had not been attending sorties together in the last five months. “I have my events, he has his own. But from time to time he shows up in some of my rallies,” said Bagatsing.

But in a text message to the Inquirer after the Bagatsing interview, Atienza said he “talked to [Bagatsing] Wednesday afternoon at Rockwell, Makati, [and] ask[ed] him to unite the opposition for the common good.”

Asked if he meant that Bagatsing should join forces with Lim, Atienza replied: “Yes, or vice versa.”

“I am still committed to my word that I am with [Bagatsing]. However, I also understand my father for deciding to join Lim because we love Manila and we don’t want the (present) administration to win,” Atienza added.

In the Pasay interview, Bagatsing maintained that he still considered the elder Atienza, Lim and Estrada as his friends. “Just because we’re in politics doesn’t mean we have to gouge each other’s eyes out. These are just issues. What we should be talking about instead are our programs.”

He cited as an example his Kabaka clinics in Manila, which offer free diagnostic and laboratory services. “[It is] a program that no other local government or nongovernment organization has. We’re very proud of that, and the 200,000 Kabaka members know we have to defend it—and we will defend it with all our might because so many Manileños have already benefited from it.”

Bagatsing said he remained confident that voters would choose him as the next mayor because of the services he had provided through Kabaka and his future plans for the city. “[Lim and Estrada] will get the biggest surprise of their lives.”