Three-pronged mayoralty race? Labella may run vs Tom

MANILA, Philippines — A three-way fight for mayor in Cebu City in the May 2019 elections is looming this early after Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella admitted he is open to challenge incumbent Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

Labella said he is keeping his options open after taking his oath as president of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Cebu City before House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez yesterday.

“I am open for the mayorship,” Labella told The FREEMAN.

But Labella, now in his second term as vice mayor, said that the party will have to decide, when time comes, who will be the standard bearer.

He said they have yet to discuss the matter since the next election is still very far.

Labella, however, is heading to a collision course with former mayor Michael Rama, his party ally. Labella ran with Rama in the last two elections.

Even though he his joining PDP-Laban already, Labella said they are still allied with Team Rama.

Rama, on the other hand, is determined to have a political comeback next year after his loss to Osmeña in 2016. He said he already told his family about it.

“Duha naming open. Of course, as a member of one local group, I am hoping that when 2019 comes, there will only be one candidate,” Rama said on Labella’s statement.

The former mayor is hoping that it will not cause a division of their local political alliance.

“We will discuss it among the members of the group para ma address ni. Layo paman ang 2019, we will just cross the bridge when we get there,” Rama said, adding that there will be an official declaration about it in due time.

Some political pundits see Rama as politically dead after he was named by President Rodrigo Duterte as among the narco-politicians in the country.

On several occasions, Duterte named Rama on national television as illegal drug protector, an accusation the former mayor denied.

Rama made several attempts to seek an audience with the president to clear his name but did not succeed.

His inclusion on the president’s list of alleged drug protectors was believed to have prevented him from joining his partymates when they took their oath as PDP-Laban members.

Despite the situation, Labella said this will not keep him from continuing his alliance with Rama.

“(The naming as narco-politician) is a different thing. We don’t say anything about it basta kami, we are just a coalition,” Labella said.

Labella said Rama already knew about his appointment.

Pursue president’s agenda

The vice mayor said he will pursue the agenda of Duterte especially the fight against illegal drugs, the fight against the deeply-rooted corruption in the bureaucracy, and the change of the form of government.

Labella said the group is also planning to go down to the barangay for series of seminars about federalism, among others.

“There’s going to be recruitment in the barangay level as soon as possible. PDP Laban will go to the grassroots. One of the things we want to discuss with the barangay constituency is the change of the government from unitary to federalism,” he said.

After his appointment, Labella said the group will elect its officers as soon as possible.

After the election, he said the names of the elected officials will be submitted to the national party leadership. (FREEMAN)