This after Durano’s political party, Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago (PPP), of which he is the chairman in Central Visayas, decided to support former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his bid for the presidency.
With this, Durano and Davide apologized to those who expected Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo to attend the #ABETTERCEBU Grand Rally dubbed “Panagtagbo sa Talisay,” at the St. Scholastica’s Academy grounds in Barangay Tabunok on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
“As such, we apologize to those who expected VP Leni to attend such gathering. The Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago, the national party that I am part of, recently posted a manifesto of its support for BBM,” said Durano in his Facebook post, adding that he was personally informed by the PPP chairman only on Sunday afternoon or two days before the grand rally.
Earlier, the PPP also endorsed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for vice president.
Vice Governor Davide, who had long been supporting Robredo in her bid for the presidency, said it was inevitable that his running mate was bound to follow the organization’s endorsement.
“Despite our different choices for president, it has not diminished in any way our shared belief to continue our movement for A Better Cebu,” Davide said in his Facebook post Monday evening.
The vice governor noted that they already announced the possibility of having different presidential candidates to support on the day they both filed their certificates of candidacy in October last year.
Durano said it was the camp of Leni that was hesitant to join the rally after being informed of PPP’s endorsement of BBM, though he said she was still welcome, citing the rally as not a PPP event but a multi-color event.
“From the start, our goal has never been about forging political alliances but more on who will support our cause, particularly the Cebu Priority Development Agenda (CPDA), which was crafted by ordinary Cebuanos and 300 sectoral leaders,” said Davide.
During the Ceboom Grand Rally in Mandaue City last April 21 for Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Robredo publicly expressed her support for the CPDA championed by the Durano-Davide tandem.
Robredo noted that the agenda was aligned with their plans and that this would be the kind of leadership they would bring should they win in the May 9 elections, wherein plans would come from the constituents themselves.
The tandem expressed their gratitude to Robredo for her support and trust for the CPDA.
“We have gone this far. Ace and I will finish the race with the same vigor, enthusiasm and respect as the interest of the Cebuanos is more paramount over our personal choices,” said Davide.
“We’re truly grateful for all the support we’ve gotten the past few months from different colors and parties. Ang tinuod nga kadaogan sa taw nag gikan sa lain-laing kolor. If you also believe in the power of UNITY, we call our fellow Cebuanos to stand with us for #AbetterCEBU,” said Durano.
When asked if he would have chosen and supported Robredo if there had been no endorsement from the PPP, Durano laughed and did not answer yes or no.
“You know Vice Gov and I, all along our direction was really not for joint political alliances. We were really just focusing on uniting different sectors from different political colors,” he said instead.
“Even facilitating the visit of VP Leni in Danao, having VP Leni here was just really a product of our direction with Vice Gov. Junjun,” he said.
Last April 21, Robredo visited Danao City Mayor Ramon Durano III, father of Ace, at the City Hall. The Bakud party led by Mayor Durano supports the BBM-Sara tandem.
In the May polls, Ace Durano is up against reelectionist Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, head of the One Cebu party that has also endorsed the BBM-Sara tandem.