Sison appointed to top NHA post: Withdraws from QC vice mayoral race

Quezon City vice mayoralty candidate Joseph Peter Sison was appointed assistant general manager of the National Housing Authority (NHA) leaving behind his running mate in the coming May 14 elections, actor-turned politician Rudy Fernandez.

Sison’s withdrawal paved the way for an easy victory for his erstwhile opponent, incumbent vice mayor Connie Angeles who is seeking re-election, political observers said.

In a press conference, Sison said he decided to leave the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) to give way to his "lifetime dream to serve people of Quezon City better by giving them shelter."

"I opted to accept this new and higher calling by President Arroyo and to work with tireless Housing Secretary Mike Defensor. I think I can better serve the people through this national agency," added Sison who formally filed his withdrawal of candidacy yesterday at the Quezon City Commission on Election (Comelec).

Sison, who was with the Liberal Party (LP), filed his candidacy on Feb. 26 along with his running mate, LDP mayoralty candidate Fernandez, a known ally of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

Fernandez is up against Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who served as the manager of the 11-member prosecution panel in the Estrada impeachment trial.

Long before he filed his certificate of candidacy, Sison said Defensor had offered him the NHA post. But the offer hang for a while after the former Quezon City Third District congressman planned to quit as chief of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) because of controversial "uncoordinated" appointments of officials under his agency. NHA is one of the five attached agencies of HUDCC.

For his part, Fernandez claimed Sison’s withdrawal from the line up would not affect his political party.

According to a source, the Belmonte-Angeles tandem remains the leading ticket in Quezon City, based on the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia.

Sison, a former councilor, is the son of Philippine STAR legal columnist Attorney Jose Sison.