MANILA, Philippines?The so-called priest to the Lumads of Mindanao is the newest addition to the Nacionalista Party (NP) and will be the party?s candidate for governor in Bukidnon.
Fr. Diosdado Tabios, 46, Wednesday joined the 700 new recruits of the NP, including Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua, Pasig City Mayor Robert ?Bobby? Eusebio and Vice Mayor Rosalio ?Yoyong? Martirez, all from the administration party, in taking their oath before NP standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.
Aurora provincial board member Mariano Tangson, who is running for governor, fellow board members Pedro Ong and Pablo Miran, Rep. Mark Enverga and other Quezon officials also took oath as NP members.
Tabios has championed indigenous people?s right over their ancestral lands, and is noted for educating and helping the Lumads.
?We want to help change significantly the current troubling social and economic situations in the province molded by past leadership wielding absolute power and leading the people to apathy and hopelessness,? he said following the oath-taking ceremony at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City.
Tabios, a fellow of the Ford Foundation?s International Fellowship Program, was a parish priest of Valencia, Bukidnon from 2001 to 2007.
Automatically suspended
He left for the Netherlands in 2007 to pursue further studies.
Upon his return this year, he became assistant to the administrator of the San Isidro Cathedral in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Asked by reporters why he joined the Villar camp, Tabios said: ?Aside from his track record, it is Senator Villar who has frequently visited Mindanao and presented his Mindanao agenda as a priority of his leadership among all the presidentiables, which make him our choice,? said the priest.
Tabios will be deemed automatically suspended from performing priestly work, including officiating sacraments, once he files his COC, NP officials said.
Eusebio and Martirez led a group of Pasay City officials in taking their oaths as new NP members at the Tanghalang Pasigeño Wednesday.
?We think it is only right to give our support to the one who has the capability to lead the country. The country deserves someone with experience,? Eusebio said.
Following the event in Pasig, Villar swore in 700 leaders from across the country at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City led by Cua and Asenso Manileño officials allied with Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, who had earlier taken his oath.
The 700 oath-takers came from Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Benguet, Pangasinan, La Union, Aurora, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Samar, Lanao and the National Capital Region.
More defects seen
According to Villar, more local officials from Metro Manila are still expected to defect to the NP in the run-up to the 2010 elections.
The Nacionalistas will hold its proclamation rally at Plaza Moriones in Tondo, Manila, on Sunday to announce its senatorial lineup and local candidates in the 2010 polls. They will file their certificates of candidacies (CoCs) the following day.
?It?s all systems go. The commemoration of Bonifacio Day is a fitting date to file my candidacy and seal my utmost intention to serve the country and make a difference in the lives of my fellow Filipinos like Andres Bonifacio,? said Villar.
?While studying at the Isabelo delos Reyes Elementary School in Tutuban, Gat Andres Bonifacio became my inspiration. I admire his patience and perseverance,? he said.
