First five named in Duterte slate

DAVAO CITY—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday named  five of 12 senatorial candidates of other camps that he wants to adopt as guests.

These were Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, world boxing champion Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao, former Senator Panfilo Lacson Jr., ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Samuel Pagdilao and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo.

Duterte said he will complete his slate on or before Dec. 10, the last day of filing of COCs for substitution.

Duterte also endorsed the reelection of Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexie Nograles, who is running unopposed in the first district of this city.

Duterte did not field an opponent for Nograles, whom he describes as his nephew. Nograles’ mother Beth and Duterte are cousins.

Duterte, who filed his Certificate of Candidacy for president on Friday, told reporters in an ambush interview at the Matina Hotel Enclave here that Romualdez’s pledge of bringing “malasakit” to government should be a major factor for people to elect him to the Senate.

“Martin is my candidate to the Senate,” Duterte responded to a query of a Manila-based journalist. 

He said Romualdez, who is also a guest candidate of presidential aspirant and Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance, is one of the most qualified senatorial candidates.

Romualdez, a lawyer, is the president of the Philippine Constitution Association and leader of the House Independent Bloc.

Earlier, Duterte said he may include in his senatorial lineup the following: Senator Sergio Osmeña III, Susan “Toots” Ople, former Senator Miguel Zubiri and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino.

Former House Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr., a bar topnotcher who retired from politics and now managing his Royale House Travel Inn and Dormitel here, announced his support for the presidential bid of Duterte, stressing “we have one and solid Davao City for him.”

“For the record, Boy Nograles who was [Duterte’s political] enemy for 30 years is publicly supporting him and I will campaign for him in every which way I can,” Nograles told reporters in his short speech at the Oh Boy Beach Resort at Times Beach here.

Nograles’ sons, Karlo Alexei is running unopposed on his third and last term as congressman in the first district of Davao City and Jerico or Koko is the second nominee of Pambansang Bayaning Atleta party-list led by its first nominee, former Rep. Mark Sambar.

Presidential candidate and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, a lawyer and running mate of Duterte, expressed confidence that the Comelec will allow the mayor to run and replace Martin Diño as the official standard bearer of Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan in next year’s elections.

“Mayor Duterte will hurdle the legal question hounding his presidential bid because Martin Diño’s intention was to run for president,” Cayetano told reporters in a separate ambush interview here, referring to the questionable document of Diño who used CoC for president, but signed it as candidate for Pasay City mayor.

Karlo Nograles, also a lawyer, echoed Cayetano’s position, explaining the Comelec “already recognized Diño as presidential candidate after it asked why he should not be declared a nuisance candidate.”

Pacquiao reiterated Friday that he will not abandon Binay despite Duterte’s latest move filing the other day his CoC for president in the 2016 elections with the law department of the Commission on Elections in Manila through a representative, lawyer Salvador Medialdea, shortly after withdrawing his CoC for reelection.

Duterte’s CoC was filed along with a certificate of nomination and acceptance from the PDP-Laban signed by Duterte and the party’s vice president, engineer Salvador Ty.

In withdrawing his CoC, Duterte named his daughter, former mayor Sara Duterte, as his substitute.