PJ to Ace: what have you done for Camotes

ONE Cebu gubernatorial candidate Pablo John “PJ” Garcia struck back at former Tourism secretary and 5th district congressional bet Ace Durano who earlier said they regret supporting the Garcias in the 2010 elections.

Garcia’s spokesperson Joel Garganera asked Durano what has he done to boost tourism in Camotes Island when he was still secretary of Tourism during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Gwen (Garcia) frequently puts Camotes Island on the front page of her Suroy-suroy Sugbo,” Garganera said.

“Durano was a tourism secretary then, but what were his contributions to Camotes during his time?”asked Garganera.

It was Governor Garcia, who is now serving a six-month suspension, who championed tourism development in Camotes Island. When Garcia became governor, Garganera said, the boat trips from Danao City to Camotes Island increased from three trips a day to 10.

In his speech in San Francisco, Camotes Island last April 15, Durano expressed their regrets of giving the votes needed by Garcia to win a third term in the Capitol in 2010. After the election, he said, Capitol only gave a pittance of projects to the 5th district. He also accused the suspended governor of squandering Capitol resources.

A video of this speech is posted in the Facebook account of the LP-Bakud.

In 2010, the 5th district which is the bulwark of the Baruk Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (Bakud) of the Durano clan gave the suspended governor about 80,000 votes lead against Hilario “Junjun” Davide.

Garcia’s overall margin against Davide was more than 90,000 votes. The Liberal Party formally coalesced with Bakud in December last year, with Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale as the running mate of Davide. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent