Teodoro to barnstorm Cebu Friday

Unmindful of the moves by some local executives who ditched him in favor of Nacionalista Party’s Senator Manuel Villar, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro will barnstorm Cebu Friday to show that the central Philippine province remains an administration bailiwick.

Teodoro will attend a rally at 6 p.m. Friday in Cebu City organized by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia as a kick off activity of the official start of the local campaign. In the morning, he will attend a rally in his home province in Tarlac and unveil the “green loop,” composed of 40,000 supporters who will form a human chain starting at the Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats headquarters along Connecticut Street near EDSA up to different parts of Metro Manila.

“Defections happen to all parties, we still have the majority,” lawyer Mike Toledo, Teodoro’s spokesman, said in a text message when asked about the withdrawal of support of some local executives in Cebu led by former mayor Alvin Garcia and his party, Kugi Uswag Sugbo (Progress for Cebu) or Kusug.

The One Cebu party, however, led by Gwendolyn Garcia, remains supportive of Teodoro, Toledo said.

The province has about one million registered voters.

Reggie Velasco, deputy secretary general of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, denied reports that three Cebu lawmakers – father and son Pablo and Pablo John Garcia and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz – have also switched allegiance to Villar’s party.

“They are still with Gibo (Teodoro), his supporters in Cebu are still intact,” he said in a telephone interview.

Velasco warned party members could face sanctions if they violate the resolution that Lakas-Kampi-CMD will support only one presidential candidate in the May 2010 elections.

He said members who would be expelled from the party for supporting another candidate would lose the privilege of having poll watchers given to Lakas-Kampi-CMD as a dominant political party.

In a separate statement, two administration senatorial candidates expressed confidence that Teodoro will still get the vote-rich province amid the defections.

Lawyer Raul Lambino and League of Municipalities of the Philippines president Ramon Guico said Cebu has intelligent voters, who would go for Teodoro come election day.

politics.inquirer.net