Binay ally in Sultan Kudarat jumps ship to join Duterte

KORONADAL CITY—A staunch supporter of opposition presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay has shifted alliances and thrown his support to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Former Rep. Pakong “Pax” Mangudadatu, who is seeking the gubernatorial post of Sultan Kudarat, expressed his support for Duterte in a meeting with former Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez here on Friday afternoon.

Dominguez is Duterte’s ally.

Pax said his shift to Duterte was due to the mayor’s advocacy for peace in Mindanao.

“His views for peace in Mindanao are also the views that I espouse thus, I am supporting Duterte,” Mangudadatu told reporters.

Mangudadatu is trying to regain the Sultan Kudarat governorship under a local party allied with United Nationalist Alliance of Binay.

Last December, Binay visited Sultan Kudarat and met with incumbent Gov. Suharto Teng Mangudadatu and Pax during which they vowed to push for Binay’s victory in Sultan Kudarat.

Mangudadatu told Dominguez that during his municipal and barangay visits, people were shouting for Duterte wherever he went.

Sultan Kudarat is composed of 11 municipalities and one city and has a voting population of 392,693. Mangudadatu vowed that Duterte would win in the province.

Mangudadatu is running against Liberal Party’s bet, Isulan Mayor Dado Pallasigue. RC

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