Liberals prefer low-key sorties, say 2 officials

Liberals prefer lowkey sorties, say 2 officials

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale all but accuses the Capitol of using in-house media for campaign publicity, while her son Provincial Board Member Miguel Magpale says they believe in service “without lavish spending”

TWO Liberal Party (LP) members agreed yesterday with what Talisay City Councilor Romeo Villarante said about the LP conducting sorties “in secret” in the barangays.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who is running for the same office under LP, said that even on Sundays, they visit places as a group to stay close to their constituents.

“Wa lang mi (We just don’t have) publicity. Wa man mi reporters nga magkuyog-kuyog (We don’t have reporters who go along with us). Wa man mi (We do not have) Sugbo TV. Wa man mi (We do not have a) Sugbo magazine,” the vice governor said. Sugbo TV and Sugbo magazine are both projects of the Provincial Government.

The vice governor told Sun.Star Cebu they were “somewhere” with the group yesterday, without going into details.

Her son, Provincial Board (PB) Member Miguel An-

tonio Magpale, said the LP has plans for their constituents that they will pursue not just because of the May 2013 elections, but to help.

Miguel, however, said these sorties are not exactly a secret, just conducted without any media mileage.

“We admit, we cannot directly compete (with One Cebu) on those kinds of activities…. But we have a battle plan,” he added. He said they can help “without having to lavishly spend.”

The Provincial Capitol led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has conducted a series of medical missions and distributes financial assistance to the towns and cities of the Province.

“I think these things should have been done years ago,” the younger Magpale told Sun.Star Cebu.

Rep. Pablo John Garcia, who is running for governor under One Cebu, said they don’t have any secret moves at all, as they want to be transparent in what they are doing. The congressman and his candidate for vice governor, Ramon “Boboy” Durano IV, have joined the Capitol’s visits to the towns since declaring their candidacies.

“If it’s such a secret, why say it? Padayon lang mo diha sa inyong secret basta kami wa mi (Go on with your secret but for us we don’t have any) secret. We’re transparent about everything,” he said.

His father, Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia, also said their party knows where they stand.

“Ang politika nakita ninyo (As what you have seen, politics) is a show of force. Dili ka mahimo nga mangampanya ka ari sa tago kay (You cannot campaign in secret, because) you need people,” the elder Garcia, a former three-term governor of Cebu, said.

“Taud-taud nako (I have been) in this kind of activity ug nahibaw ko kung unsa’y mga tilimad-on sa umaabot nga bugnong lugaynon (and I know what are the signs of how the upcoming elections will turn out),” he added.

One Cebu previously invited Vice Governor Magpale to run for office with them, but she decided to support lawyer and LP candidate Hilario Davide III instead. FMG