ilItilnga

Business Insight
Monday, April 29, 2019

Otso Diretso slate

in full force in Gebu
BY WENDELL VIGILIA
ALL eight opposition senatorial
candidates urider the "Otso Di-
retso" slate campaigned together
yesterday io Cebu, apparently
dras'n by *re huge number of r'-ot-
els in the ptovince.
The Cebu sortie, which rvas only
the second time the opposition
bets sho-l'ed up in full fotce, was
held with litde or no suppott fiom
local ofdcials.
The first reas in Naga City,
hometorvn of opposition leader
Vice Presideot Irni Robredo, last
February duting the Otso DLetso's
proclamation rall;.
Cebu has at least 3.08 million
votem as of December 2018, or
about five petcent of the total
national votes.
Some of t}le Otso Ditetso bets
campaigned in the province earlier
Last month, former president
Benigno "N o,r'oo-r'" Aquino III
joined the opposition slate but
.failed to rrin the support of local
officials.
Aquino woo big in Cebu when
he ran for president in 2010 but
Manuel A. Roxas, formet intedot
secretarv ald now one of the Otso
' )
senatorii candidates, badly lost the
presidential elections in 2016 to
then Davao City mayor Ro&igo
Duteite who received at least P1 1
milLion votes in the province.
Roxas, te electionist Sen. Paolo
Benrgno 'tsam" Aquino, Rep. Ga4.
Alejano (PL, Magdalo), human
tights lz*1'er Jose Manuel "Chel"
Diokno, formet solicitor genetal
Floria Hilbal', election lawl'er Ro-
mulo N{acalintal, former Quezon
Rep. Loreozo "Etin" Taiada,
and Marawi clvic leadet Samira
Gutoc campaigned at the Plaza
Independencia in Cebu City in the
afternoon after a multi-sectotal
dialogue at the a coveted court in
Taloot, Argao
Latet in the aftetnoon, the slate
. attended an event of the Ahon
Laylayan Coalition at the Plaza
Independencia in Cebu City v'here
they were joined by Robredo.
"All Cebuanos wete invited to
attend dre er.ent, especially *rose
who tequested to heai the (sena-
totial) candidates that we're sup-
porting," she told a weekly radio
program before the event.
The Vice Presiddnt did the same
tlLinglast February21 when she ac
companied some members of the
See OTSO Page 83

OTSO of local suppotg saying it forces change" frreled by ordinary folk.

slate in Cebu City during a dialogue
with the same coa.lition.
UPHILL BATTLE,
The opposition's campaign in
Cebu is cleatly ao uphill batde be-
cause the former Liberal Patty has
lost many of its allies to the now
ruling PDP-I-aban palty.
Mandaue City Mayor Luigi
Quisumbing, for one, a former
LP member, endorsed the admio-
istration's Hugpong ng Pagbabago
senatorial slate while Cebu City
Mayor Tommy Osmeia is no
Ionger allied with the LP because
he was seen campaigning with re-
electionist Sen. Grace Poe, who is
an independent.
NOTHINGNEW
Alejano said campaigning with
no suppolt ftom local of6cials is
nodring knew for the opposition
slate rvhich is being shunned by
local allies of t-lre administration.
He blamed the couatry's weak
political patty system for dre iack
elected of6cials to sr{tch 1o-tl-le
party of the winning president to
secute rheir political interests.
'qWe understand local ofGcials.
It's nothing oew, really that those
who are in favot of the admtris-
ttation are doing so because v,.e
dont have a strong political system.
They can rransfer from one pa.rty
to anodrer in otder to secute tle
political interest so we can't blame
them," he said.
But Alejano said many local
officials are secredy backing Otso
Diretso.
Hilbay said that even as local ex-
ecutives seem to be shutting their
doors to Oso, the opposition is
able to counter the "hakot" crowds
of the administration senatorial
candidates with its own "hugot"
crovrds ot those vrho are faustrated
vrith the administmtion.
He said the opposition's voluo-
teers are making a difference be-
cause they "ate making a noise and
are very dedicated and comrnitted
to the catnpaign of Otso Diretso."
Taiada called thi opposition's
campaign a "people's campaign,"
saying it's a "movement for
Macalirrtal, Robredo's counsel
io tie electoral complaint 6led
against her by former senator
Ferdinand'Bongbong, Marcos
Jr, said a caodidate's victory lies
in the haads of votels and rrot
local politiciaos.
"If they (adoinisttation) are
saying that Cebu's elected of6cials
are fot them (admioistration ben),
then so be it. To me, drougb, what
wete after is the real voters of the
province of Cebu," Macalintal
said.
Gutoc asked local executives to
allow Otso gandidates to campaign
in their areas and to endorse them
if possible.
She asked that they be notaftaid
of having their internal revenue
allotmens (RA) kept from them
ot having thei names included in
the so-called narco list.
"Don't be aftaid, governor,
mayol Please consider that the
Otso Diretso is already endorsed
by yout CathoJic bishops secredy.
So please, If you're rcal leaders,
please represent the interest of
yout community and not the Presi
dent's," she said.

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