Syjuco 'nets' 2nd District mayors, disgruntled bets jump ship to Tupas camp
An 'exodus' of officials from the ruling and allied administration parties in Iloilo Second District towns marked this last week of filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC).
As such, oath after oath of allegiances were conducted over the weekend to take former Lakas and KAMPI personalities mostly incumbent town councilors and councilorables under the wing of re-electionist opposition Governor Niel Tupas Sr.
The News Today (TNT) got the confirmation from one newly-accepted Tupas supporter who said his group of incumbent councilors and vice-mayoralty bet was left with no other option.
Main reason for the exodus to the Tupas force was the purported pledge of allegiances of the incumbent Second District mayors to Secretary Augusto Boboy Syjuco, Director-General of the Technical Education & Skills Education Authority and wife, Representative Judy Syjuco.
District insiders said the Syjuco pledges were particularly sealed with re-electionist or last-termer mayors and had the condition for all-out support on the lady solon's re-election and outright denial of support to the congressional bid of Board Member Cecilia Capadosa.
"The mayors had no other options themselves," another source in a text message explained. "Either they go with Syjuco or face a Syjuco-backed opponent. They took the easy way out -- go with Syjuco or else they will have to spend a lot of money for their candidacy."
Problem though, the mayors' pledges caused for a number of mayorables and vice-mayorables to be dislocated following earlier expectations of a Lakas endorsement.
A group led by one incumbent councilor of one town scrambled for a personal meeting with district power couple, former Congressman Albertito Lopez and Congresswoman Emily Relucio-Lopez. The meeting was not realized with the Lopez couple out of town however an independent confirmation was reached that the district (mis) development was already known to the duo. Unfortunately, most of those displaced were Lopez protégées and die-hards.
"We run out of time so we had to go to Tupas," the TNT councilor-source added.