I don’t need them, Mar says of Garcias, Duranos

CEBU CITY—Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas declared here that he doesn’t need the support of known political clans in the province and relies on the support of the people.

But Roxas apparently could not snub members of the Gullas family, one of the biggest and most influential political clans in Cebu’s first congressional district, at an LP rally in Mandaue City.

Present at the rally were former Rep. Eduardo Gullas and grandson, Rep. Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas Jr.

Roxas made sure he acknowledged the Gullas family’s presence. What he missed though, was to acknowledge the presence of Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes, an LP member and Eduardo Gullas’ rival in the mayoral race in Talisay.

Slighted by what he apparently felt was a snub, De los Reyes, who has been with LP since 2010, said he and his team wanted to leave the party.

But his son, John Yre de los Reyes, was more certain, posting on his Facebook account: “Yellow no more!”

Roxas and his running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, campaigned in Cebu on Thursday and Friday. They held a grand rally at Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex on Thursday, which was graced by President Aquino.

In an interview with reporters before the rally, Roxas said he did not need the support of influential clans in Cebu province.

He said it was enough to have the support of ordinary Cebuanos who believed in “Daang Matuwid” (straight path), the Aquino administration’s battle cry against corruption.

“The big families, give it to them,” he said, in reply to questions about the support given by the Garcia clan to Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Durano clan to Sen. Grace Poe. Poe and Binay are leading a pack of five candidates for President, including Roxas, in preelection surveys.

“My allies are the Filipino people,” Roxas said.

Acknowledging the presence of the Gullas grandfather and grandson at the Mandaue rally, Roxas cracked jokes about the elder Gullas.

“He didn’t want to be referred to as grand old man because he wore red or pink rubber shoes like a teenager,” Roxas said.

“Congressman Samsam Gullas (the grandson), I saw him here. Let’s give him a round of applause,” Roxas said at the rally.

The elder Gullas, a political veteran who had served as Cebu governor, representative and Talisay mayor, heads the local party, Alayon, that has dominated elections in Cebu’s first congressional district.

But De los Reyes and his slate, who were in the audience, felt slighted.

“We felt bad. Even just through a whisper, we were not acknowledged,” said De los Reyes.

De los Reyes said his camp considered LP as its “husband.”

In village sorties, he said he made sure to campaign for the party’s national candidates.

“We considered ourselves loyal wives of LP,” De los Reyes said.

Other parties tried to woo him, but De los Reyes said: “We did not want to stain our marriage to LP.”

“But when we went to the rally, they brought in another wife [who] they kissed and loved in front of us,” the mayor said.

He said the Gullases have not been loyal to LP unlike him who stuck with the party since 2010.

In the 2010 presidential election, the Gullases’ party supported the bid of then

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. while De los Reyes and his camp campaigned for the eventual winner, President Aquino, and Roxas, who lost to Binay in the race for Vice President.

De los Reyes said Roxas’ action here only indicated that they were no longer needed by LP.