One of the new administration allies is the mayor of Tanauan, Leyte province Pelagio Tecson. Tanauan is among the provinces hardest hit by Super typhoon Yolanda in 2013. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net
SOME local officials have turned their backs on the opposition party United Nationalist Alliance to join the ruling Liberal Party.
The former allies of Vice President Jejomar Binay and officials from other parties were sworn in as new LP members at the LP Headquarters in Quezon City on Tuesday.
All 260 local officials came from the provinces of Pampanga, Laguna, Tarlac, Olongapo, Masbate, Leyte, San Jose Del Monte, Sulu, Camarines Norte, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Surigao del Norte, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa, Isabela, Caloocan, Quezon City, and Munoz.
Mar Roxas and Binay, his political archrival, are both vying for the presidency in the 2016 elections.
The LP standard-bearer led the oathtaking of the members in simple ceremony that was attended by LP president and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.
In a short speech, Roxas said that all provinces were treated fairly by the administration regardless of the political affiliations of local chief executives.
“Alam n’yo po, hindi po kami nahihiya. May mukha po kaming ipinapakita po sa inyo na anyayahan kayo at tanggapin po kayo sa ating laban para sa Daang Matuwid dahil kayo mismo, lalung-lalo na yung mga local chief executives, kayo mismo ang makakapagsabi na nitong nakaraang limang taon, wala po kaming pinili,” said Roxas.
Through Yolanda
One of the new administration allies is Mayor Pelagio Tecson of Tanauan, Leyte province. Tanauan is among the provinces hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.
For Tecson, it was in the wake of Yolanda’s devastation of Leyte when he realized that the administration would set aside politics when it comes to emergency response and humanitarian assistance to disaster-torn provinces.
This claim, however, was contradicted by some Leyte officials, particularly Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez, who accused the Aquino administration of injecting politics in the Yolanda response.
“I personally saw that there is no politics in the administration of P-Noy (Aquino). Being in another party was not a hindrance for them to help us in those trying moments for us in Tanauan after Yolanda,” said Tecson.
“In fact, (the government’s help) was one of the reasons na naging mabilis ang pagbangon ng bayan ng Tanauan,” he added. Julliane Love de Jesus