REELECTIONISTS Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno (left) and Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy (center) are running for reelection under the administration PDP-Laban. At right is Rep. Rolando Uy, the vice mayor’s father. —PHOTOS BY JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — In this northern Mindanao city, the race for mayor is a free-for-all among political allies of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Except for two candidates who are running as independent, three other contenders are considered the President’s supporters: Candy Lourdes Darimbang of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Jose Gabriel “Pompee” La Viña of Padayon Pilipino-Hugpong ng Pagbabago coalition, and reelectionist Mayor Oscar Moreno of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
Two bets — Benjamin Contreras and Felix Borres Jr. — are running as independents.
Darimbang, who ran but lost as representative in the city’s first congressional district in 2016, claimed her decision to run had the blessing of the President.
Her supposed running mate, lawyer Reuben Canoy, a veteran radio commentator and a former city mayor who campaigned for federal Mindanao, declined the invitation for him to run because of his advancing age and health concerns.
Her husband, Mandangan Darimbang, a retired Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board regional director, is running for councilor.
Veteran
La Viña is running with former Mayor Vicente Emano, a political veteran of almost 30 years.
Candy Lourdes Darimbang
Emano, who founded Padayon Pilipino, a regional party aligned with Hugpong ng Pagbabago led by Mr. Duterte’s daughter and Davao City mayor, Sara Duterte, served as mayor of his hometown in Tagoloan before he became Misamis Oriental governor.
He also served as Cagayan de Oro mayor for three terms and vice mayor for a term before he lost to Moreno in the 2013 elections.
Reelection
Emano’s son, Yevgeny Vincente, is the incumbent governor of the province while his daughter, Nadya Emano-Elipe, is a city councilor.
Jose Gabriel La Viña
Moreno, who is on his last term as mayor, has teamed up again with reelectionist Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin “Kikang” Uy, whose father, Rolando, served as the city’s first congressional district representative.
La Viña, one of the President’s campaign leaders in the 2016 presidential election, said his group would be formally endorsed by Mayor Duterte.