NPC DITCHES YAPHA FOR SONNY O
The party’s gubernatorial bet Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale says their allies in the third district had arrived at the decision Yapha admits she has no choice but to accept the development, adds that she will continue to support NPC
DID the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) just junk third district congressional candidate and former Pinamungajan mayor Geraldine Yapha?
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, gubernatorial candidate of NPC-Barug Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (Bakud), recently said they were supporting one of Yapha’s opponents, Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña.
Magpale made the announcement during Osmeña and his Team Alagad’s proclamation rally at the Toledo City Megadome last Friday, April 5.
The vice governor told reporters that the decision to choose Osmeña over Yapha was made by their members, particularly mayors in the third district who supported them.
“Well, by the time they got to me, the mayors had already decided. I have to go along,” Magpale said.
Yapha had no choice but to respect the party decision, but she said the development would not affect her campaign.
“In fact, party affiliation, when it boils down to it, doesn’t even matter. People do not look at you because you are of the same party or whatever. In fact, a political endorsement sometimes doesn’t matter. What matters is the kind of program and the kind of service that you can offer your constituents,” Yapha said in Cebuano.
But even if she was junked for Osmeña, Yapha said she had no hard feelings and would continue to support the candidacy of Magpale as governor and Gov. Hilario Davide III as vice governor.
“That truly speaks of my commitment and that speaks that I am true to my promises sa among partido (to my party). That’s the kind of leadership that I have. So whether or not they will support me, it still remains the same that I am still in this party and I still stand firm on the kind of commitment that I have for the party,” she told Superbalita Cebu Saturday, April 6.
Yapha was the NPC’s official candidate for the third district when she received her certificate of nomination and acceptance before the filing of candidacies last October.
She refused to say why she was passed over for Osmeña.
“You know in politics. For everything is possible. Anything is possible. As I’ve said, you may be friends now and ugma di na sad (and opponents tomorrow),” Yapha said.
During the proclamation rally in Toledo City, Osmeña formally endorsed Magpale and Davide as their official bets for governor and vice governor, respectively, this May.
In his speech, Osmeña disclosed that Davide wasn’t even aware that he (Osmeña) had supported his reelection bid in 2016 when the latter ran against former Government Service Insurance System general manager and president Winston Garcia.
Osmeña said Davide garnered 20,000 votes in Toledo City.
“Toledo was the swing vote that made Davide win the gubernatorial race that year,” Osmeña said in Cebuano.
Osmeña said he also supported Magpale’s run for vice governor that year in which the latter garnered 18,000 votes in the city.
Osmeña said he wanted Magpale to support his plan to convert the third district into a separate province and call it Occidental Cebu.