DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is running for President under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan Party (PDP-Laban), has earned the support of two lawmakers from a party-list group and Mindanao.
In Isabela province, former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III has withdrawn his endorsement for the presidential bid of Vice President Jejomar Binay and has instead supported Duterte.
Bello, who is 1BAP party-list representative, also said he was no longer the first nominee of the 1BAP, now renamed 1-Ahapo, which is identified with Binay because its members are associated with the Vice President’s fraternity.
“It is official. I withdrew my party-list nomination out of delicadeza and to support my longtime friend and classmate, Mayor Duterte,” Bello said.
“[Backing Duterte] is a decision that cost me my reelection bid as party-list congressman. But I know that it is a right decision,” he said.
Bello said he has started campaigning for his son, lawyer and three-term Davao City Councilor Karlo Santos Bello, who is running for representative in the third district of Davao City under Duterte’s political group, Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod.
Another son, Board Member Kyrille Bello, is seeking reelection in the first district of Isabela.
An Isabela native, Bello once served as Davao City administrator when he married the daughter of former Interior Minister Luis Santos.
Bello said he helped the vice presidential bid of Binay in 2010. Saying he had informed Binay about his decision, Bello said: “With a heavy heart, I have to do it for the sake of upholding my own integrity.”
In Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Saturday withdrew his support for Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and announced he would campaign for Duterte.
Rodriguez confirmed his decision when he was interviewed on Magnum Radio in Cagayan de Oro City.
“We, here in Mindanao, have not been getting our real share in the budget nor a seat at the table in big [decision-making processes] that affect us and our fellow Mindanaoans. It’s high time we fully reach the potential of Mindanao… It’s time for our next President, Rody Duterte,” said Rodriguez, the national president of the Centrist Democratic Party.
But Rodriguez, who is running for mayor against reelectionist Mayor Oscar Moreno of LP and Vicente Emano of the Padayon Pilipino party, said he would support Roxas’ running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, and not Duterte’s running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
“Leni believes in the strength and importance of [local governments], as she came from one of the best cities [in the country],” Rodriguez said.
He described Robredo as “a politician with integrity, love for the people, passion in public service.” Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Jigger Jerusalem, Inquirer Mindanao