FORMER Tourism secretary and now 5th district congressional bet Joseph “Ace” Durano expressed regrets about his party’s working to get votes for Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in the 2010 election.
The four-minute, 36 seconds speech of Durano in San Francisco town, Camotes Island which was uploaded in the Facebook account of Liberal Party-Barug Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (LP-Bakud) gubernatorial candidate Hilario “Junjun” Davide, expressed his sentiment over how they were deceived by the suspended governor in the 2010 election.
He regretted that after they delivered the votes to propel Garcia to her third and last term in the Capitol, the 5th district, the bulwark of the Duranos, received just a pittance, and the bigger bulk of Capitol funds squandered.
“Kanang wisik wisik na ilang gipaabot dinhi para lang na nga magtoo ta nga sinsero ilang pag serbisyo. Pero sa tinud-anay ang daku nga pundo sa kapitolyo ilang gi waldas,” Durano said.
(The sprinkling of funds here is just to make you believe they are sincere in their public service. But the truth is, the bigger chunk of Capitol funds, they have squandered.)
Capitol funds should not be used for personal interest but for the needs of the people in the barangay, he added.
Upon her succession at the helm of the Capitol when Garcia was suspended last December, Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale divulged to the public the provincial government’s payables amounting to about a billion pesos.
Durano, who is now chairman of Bakud Party, of the Durano political clan, said that his conscience made him realize that they were wrong in giving the majority of their district’s vote to the suspended governor for the past elections.
“Na konsensya kaayo ko kay ang Bakud miadtong niaging eleksyon, didto mihatag ang mayorya sa pikas,” he said.
(I am conscience-stricken because Bakud in the last election gave majority of votes to the other party.)
“Nakonsensya ko kay karon nakahibaw ko kung unsa diay ang ilang mga pamaagi,” he added.
(I am conscience stricken now that I have known their ways.)
The 5th district votes, which has over 286,000 voters gave the swing votes that was decisive in defeating Davide in his first try at the gubernatorial seat in 2010.
Garcia led Davide by just over 90,000 votes in 2010. And about 80,000 of this came from her lead over Davide in the 5th district alone.
Durano hopes that this coming May 2013 election, the people of San Fransisco will not be deceived by the Garcias and their One Cebu Party.
The Bakud Party formally severed ties with the One Cebu Party last December when acting governor, then acting vice governor Agnes Magpale accepted Davide’s invitation to be his running mate.
One Cebu’s standard bearer had also courted Magpale to be his running mate. They ended up with former vice mayor Boboy Durano as his running mate.
The Durano’s of Danao are also divided with Ace’s father Danao Vice Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III at odds with his brother Danao Mayor Ramon “Boy” Durano Jr., father of Boboy.