ZAMBOANGA CITY – President Duterte endorsed four local candidates during the grand rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) at the Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum around 1 a.m. on March 4.
Duterte raised the hands of incumbent Zamboanga City’s 1st District Representative Celso Lobregat and his younger brother Jomar. Celso is vying for mayor while Jomar is running for Congress under the 1st District.
“Itataas ko ang kamay niyan (I will raise the hands of this), Celso Lobregat. He was a congressman in the 11th Congress. Nagkasama kami nito (We were together) as congressmen.
After the grand rally, Duterte invited two others inside a designated closed-door room for a brief chat with local officials from Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga City.
Inside the room, Duterte raised the hands of Lilia Nuno, a former congresswoman of the 2nd District. Nuno is again running for the same position this May.
The President also endorsed lawyer Melchor Sadain, a former city councilor and running for Vice Mayor under Lobregat.
More than 50 officials running for different local positions were present during the grand rally.
Among them were Basilan Gov. Jim Saliman Hataman and his team; Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali, her father Sadikul Sahili and party; former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan and party; Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. Wilter Palma and party; the Uys of Zamboanga del Norte and many town mayors.
Lobregat, in an interview past 2 a.m., cleared out that raising their hands during the grand rally was not a simple photo opportunity.
His reaction was based on earlier photos posted by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar where Duterte also raised her hands in some kind of endorsement.
“Definitely, a photo opportunity is when you go beside each other and you just take a picture. But when somebody raises your hands, that means to say, he is endorsing you. It’s plain and simple (endorsement),” Lobregat said./lzb