Gullas commits to Team PNoy, but will remain loyal to PJ

The local Alayon party of Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu’s 1st district reaffirmed its commitment to the senatorial slate of Team Pnoy.

But it maintained its support to the gubernatorial run of Cebu 3rd district Rep. Pablo John Garcia of One Cebu-UNA.

For the vice gubernatorial race, Gullas said they will back the candidacy of Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale, whose local party based in Cebu’s 5th district – the Barug Alang sa Kauswagan og Demokrasya (Bakud) coalesced with the administration Liberal Party (LP) which fielded its Cebu chapter chairperson Hilario “Junjun” Davide III for governor.

The decision of the Gullas family-led Alayon party marks its alliance with two other homegrown political parties, the One Cebu of the Garcias and the Bakud of the Duranos.

Gullas noted that his allegiance to Team PNoy is primarily based on his national ally, the Nacionalista Party (NP), which coalesced with the administration LP in the midterm elections.

The NP led by Sen. Manuel Villar, who was President Benigno Aquino’s rival in the 2010 presidential race, fielded former Las Piñas representative Cynthia Villar, and incumbent Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Loren Legarda.

The other parties that comprise the administration coalition include the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and Akbayan.

Gullas said his group’s hybrid support to the Garcia and Magpale tandem is a fulfillment to a promise which he gave to the Garcias of One Ceby way back in 2011.

“If you are asking if my support for LP and Team PNoy extends to the provincial candidate, my answer is no… If I don’t stand by my word, my commitment to support the Garcia and Magpale in the May election, who will believe me in the future?”

The statement of Gullas ends months of speculation the Alayon Party will eventually endorse Davide’s second attempt at the gubernatorial post, this time against another Garcia. In 2010, he narrowly lost to suspended Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia who is running for the congressional seat of Cebu’s 3rd district.

Representative Gullas who is on his 3rd and last term is fielding grandson Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas for the 1st district Congress post, while he is seeking the mayoralty of Talisay City.

The 83-year-old Cebuano politician though said he has nothing personal against the Davides who hail from neighboring Argao town in the 2nd district.

“I am very close to Junjun Davide’s father, the former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. and his mother Virginia Perez-Davide.

Asked why he chose Magpale over Ramon “Boboy” Durano, he pointed to the time when the 70-year-old acting governor served as a teacher of a school owned by his father Vicente Gullas.