Atayde was sworn in as an official member of the GP in an oath-taking ceremony led by incumbent Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the grand ballroom of Acacia Hotel in the city Wednesday night, March 9.
“This is my new team, my family (and) this is the beginning of our fight to make Bacolod progress even more,” said Atayde, who initially ran as an independent candidate.
Atayde, who has been present in several activities spearheaded by GP, expressed his gratitude to the group for accepting him as a new member of the team.
Atayde’s entry into the GP came three months after he was first introduced by the mayor as the group’s adoptive candidate during the lighting ceremony of the Bacolod Public Plaza in December 2021.
With his addition to the group, he is confident that they can achieve a 15-0 win in the election this May.
For his part, Leonardia said Atayde came to Bacolod some 30 years ago to work, do business study and got married unlike other candidates who came to the city just to seek an electoral post.
“Pound for pound and character for character, we have a better team than we used to have. It made us even stronger, more cohesive,” Leonardia said, adding that their lineup now is more trustworthy.
“If there is no enemy from the inside, we can beat any team from the outside,” he said.
The mayor said parting with incumbent Congressman Greg Gasataya and other former members was also a blessing in disguise and a cleansing process that made GP stronger.