CEBU CITY, Philippines –The tandem of Senators Grace Poe and Francis Chiz Escudero successfully penetrated Cebu by getting a scion of a political clan in Cebu as a campaigner.
Tapping Rep. Joseph Ace Durano of Cebu’s 5th district was also seen as a move to weaken the support of vote-rich Cebu to Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas.
Ace confirmed on Friday that he would not seek reelection but had decided to accept Poe’s offer to be her campaigner.
“Senators Grace and Chiz asked me to help them in their campaign and slate which I accepted,” Ace said in an online interview.
Ace, tourism secretary during the Arroyo administration, did not say the scope of his position, saying the two senators would make announcement in the coming few days.
Ace’s elder brother, Danao City Vice Mayor Ramon “Red” Durano VI, said Ace has been tapped as the campaign manager of Poe-Escudero tandem in the national level.
“He explained to us nga it will be difficult on his part to run his campaign in the district and at the same time be the campaign manager in a national level,” Red said in a separate interview.
But as far as Bakud, their local party, was concerned, there was no decision on whom to support for president.
“Well like I said, it’s a personal decision on his (Ace) part to accept the offer of senator Grace and Senator Chiz to be the campaign manager. And in terms of the party itself, we have not decided yet, because like I said, it was spur of the moment that Ace announced his decision to us. We have not discussed that on the party level if we will support Grace and Chiz,” said Red.
Ace also made it clear that he would support the tandem of Gov. Hilario Davide III and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, both of LP, in their reelection bids. Magpale belongs to the Durano clan.
The 5th district is composed of Danao City and 10 towns including the Camotes Group of Islands. The whole district has more than 300,000 voters, which solidly delivered votes for LP during the 2013 elections when the Bakud party of the Duranos entered an alliance with LP.
Except for Liloan, all mayors in the 5th district are with Bakud. SFM