Former Senator Alvarez withdraws congressional bid in Isabela

Former Sen. Heherson Alvarez (Photo from his Facebook account)

SANTIAGO CITY, ISABEL, Philippines — Two days before the May 13 elections, former Sen. Heherson Alvarez on Saturday withdrew his candidacy for House representative in 4th District of Isabela, saying that massive vote buying had already tainted the coming polls.

In his statement of withdrawal, Alvarez, a resident of Barangay Centro West in Santiago, said votes were bought in his city and the Isabela towns of Cordon, Dinapigue, San Agustin, and Jones.

Alvarez filed his withdrawal at the Isabela election supervisor’s office.

Alvarez, a candidate of the administration party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban), was running against former Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao and Sheena Tan, both lawyers. His rivals have not commented on his withdrawal as of this writing.

“We must stop vote-buyers from destroying our freedom,” Alvarez said in his statement.

He thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for endorsing him, but he said “the massive and overwhelming vote-buying makes the electoral process a sham.”

“Vote-buying is vote-killing and is destructive to our democracy as drugs are destructive to our physical well-being,” Alvarez wrote.

Alvarez, who also served as chief of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources under the Arroyo administration, said he could not participate in a political exercise “that violates our precious political freedom to choose our leaders.”

“This political abuse of our cherished freedom is now of wide public knowledge. We must renounce it, denounce it and withdraw our tolerance or our democracy will wither away,” he said.

(Editor: Alexander T. Magno)