Leyte’s Petillas switch to BBM

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Another former ally of Vice President Leni Robredo has switched sides and now supports presidential survey frontrunner, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The Petilla clan of Leyte – led by Carlos Jericho Petilla, a member of former president Benigno Aquino III’s cabinet – has committed to support Marcos on May 9 over Robredo, whom the family supported in the 2016 elections.

The former Department of Energy (DOE) secretary, who is running to replace his younger brother Leopoldo Dominico as governor of Leyte, said they decided to support Marcos this time to have someone from the province sit as president of the country.

Marcos’ mother, former first last Imelda Romualdez Marcos is a native of Tolosa, Leyte.

“Number one here really is that he’s (Marcos) from Leyte. I’m running for governor and I’m really looking at what is advantageous for Leyte. From the immediate past, we haven’t anybody from Leyte (sit as president) and this is our time,” the elder Petilla explained in an interview.

Petilla, who ran for senator under the Liberal Party in 2016, explained that they supported the vice presidential bid of Robredo in that election because she sought their family’s support at the time.

The Petillas – both Jericho and Dominico having served three consecutive terms as governor – are considered to be the most dominant political family in Leyte which has a voting population of 1.3 million.

They committed to deliver 70 percent of the province’s votes for Marcos who led a three-stop campaign sortie in the province over the weekend in Baybay, Ormoc and Tacloban cities. This translates to over 900,000 votes.

Richard, Lucy join bandwagon

In Ormoc, Mayor Richard Gomez and his wife Rep. Lucy Torres were joined by other Leyte fourth district officials in joining the BBM-Sara bandwagon in Eastern Visayas.

“Here is a man who is a poster boy for unity. He offers unity, healing and moving forward,” Torres said in endorsing Marcos before the crowd that gathered at the Ormoc City Plaza Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Southern Leyte Gov. Damian Mercado also assured Marcos of the province’s support.

Mercado led the signing of a “Statement of Support” with other local officials to formally endorse the BBM-Sara UniTeam.

Among the other signatories are Vice Gov. Christopher Yap, now running for congressman in the 2nd District of the province, and Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado.

The UniTeam’s campaign swing in Eastern Visayas, which started in Samar last Friday, was dramatically marked by a rally attended by thousands of rain-drenched supporters at the Leyte Grandstand in Tacloban City Saturday night. – Elizabeth Marcelo, Miriam Desacada