Dr. Willie Ong sits out 3-day tour amid Isko-Sara pairing

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (FILE PHOTOS)

MANILA, Philippines — The presidential campaign of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso was thrown into disarray in Mindanao as his hosts and supporters paired him with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte during his three-day tour of southern regions, from which his running mate, Dr. Willie Ong, was conspicuously absent.

The Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer admitted that the party opted to have Ong sit out the Mindanao events to spare him the humiliation of a cold reception from local leaders, many of whom were pushing a Domagoso-Duterte ticket.

“[He’s not here] because we didn’t want him to be embarrassed. You don’t want to put your partner, if you’re true to your partner, in an awkward position, because they have a different preferred candidate,” the 47-year-old former actor told reporters in General Santos City on Tuesday.

Domagoso insisted that he and Ong were a team, but he said he did not begrudge certain groups picking him as their preferred president and President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter as their preferred vice president.

“They are the ones hosting; they are the ones paying; they are the ones helping us. It’s like you’re putting [senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc] in one area only to be crucified and embarrassed. That would be a pity. We don’t do that as a matter of respect and belief in Doc Willie,” he said.

But in an ANC interview, Domagoso’s campaign strategist Lito Banayo assumed blame for Ong’s absence in Mindanao.

“That was my call. That was my decision, because, whenever you make sorties or campaign trips, you send an advance team, normally, four or five days beforehand, even a week beforehand. They called me up and they said, ‘Boss, there are streamers and tarpaulins here all saying, ‘Isko-Sara,’” the veteran political operator said.

“So I called up Doc Willie, and I said, Doc, it might be better if you didn’t join us in Mindanao because I don’t want to put you in an embarrassing situation where the tarpaulins there are Isko-Sara,” Banayo said.

Appearing on a Facebook live video on Monday night, Ong addressed reports that he was hurt by the “mix-and-match” of different presidential tickets.

—DJ YAP

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