Cebu Provincial Board Member Julian Daan is in a dilemma.
Should he assume the post of acting vice governor or stay by the side of his ally, suspended governor Gwen Garcia?
“Mura ko’g bibingka ani, kayo sa ibabaw, kayo sa ubos” (I’m like a native rice cake, facing fire from above and fire down below), he said yesterday.
He still has to make up his mind.
Daan, popularly known as Teban Escudero, run for vice governor in the 2004 where he lost to Gregorio Sanchez Jr. for the vice governorship.
Daan was served an order yesterday by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) mandating him to take his oath as acting vice governor, following the order of succession.
“There was no need to serve an order but this is sort of a reminder (for Daan) to take his oath as acting vice governor,” said DILG Provincial director Jerome Gonzales.
Daan was all smiles in the company of several Cebu mayors, allies of Garcia, who gathered at the Capitol yesterday to show their support.
“Galibog gyud ko. Ang mga department heads tua ni Governor Gwen … maghuwat lang una ko kon kinsa ang tinuod nga governor (I’m confused. The department heads are on Gov. Gwen’s side. I’ll just wait for who will emerge the real governor), Daan said.
When the radio station’s anchor addressed him as “vice governor,” the former comedian chuckled and retorted: “Board lang sa (Just call me Board Member).”
Rep. Pablo John Garcia, brother of the suspended governor, said Daan could not be charged with dereliction of duty as he was not officially informed of the suspension order.
“You won’t be sued for dereliction of duty. If charges are filed against you, I will be the one to defend you you,” said Pablo John, a lawyer.
Daan, a well-known radio and TV personality in the Visayas and Mindanao, started his political career in 1982 when he won as barangay councilman in Tabunok, Talisay. He became a municipal councilor of Talisay in 1987 at the height of his popularity for his comic portrayal of Esteban Escudero in “Milyonaryong Mini,” “Si Goat the Wanderpol,” and “Manok ni San Pedro” in the 1980s and 1990s.
He served as PB member for Cebu’s 1st district in 1998 and served for two terms. Daan teamed up with Governor Garcia in the 2004 elections, but lost.
Under Garcia’s first term, he became the Capitol’s consultant on barangay affairs. He reclaimed his PB seat in 2007 and was reelected in 2010.
As the PB member with the highest number of votes in the the 2010 elections next to Agnes Magpale, he is second in the line of succession.
Magpale, elected to the PB in 2010, assumed the vice governorship after Sanchez died in 2011./Ador Mayol, Dale Israel Senior Reporter