Tagbilaran City Councilor Jonas Cacho after weeks of being vocal on his intent to run for president of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) – Bohol chapter made the “sacrifice” of abandoning his bid as he, and the rest of the City Council, endorsed Councilor Augustinus Gonzaga as candidate for the coveted post.
“It’s a sacrifice… for the sake of unity of the party,” said Cacho after the City Council passed a resolution endorsing Gonzaga as their PCL candidate on Friday.
The development came after Cacho and other aspiring candidates for the top PCL post, Loay Councilor Jeselou Adiong and Anda Councilor Ferdinand Berongoy, met with the Padayon Bol-anon leadership under Governor Arthur Yap and Vice Governor Rene Relampagos on Thursday night.
Yap reportedly wants a lawyer to run for the post, given that there are currently no lawyers at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. The PCL president is accorded an SP seat as ex-officio member.
Gonzaga and Berongoy are lawyers while Adiong is the brother-in-law of Relampagos. Tinuod Bol-anon meanwhile is fielding Baclayon Councilor Theodore Cabahug, who is also a lawyer, to run for the PCL presidency.
Gonzaga welcomed the support of his colleagues in the council but noted that his candidacy remained contingent on the decision of the Padayon Bol-anon leadership.
“Injo man kong gi-endorse then I’m honored. Pero mokonsulta sa ko sa mga kadagkuan sa atong partido. Kay di man mahimo na maghala-hala ta,” Gonzaga said.
“Pero hambogiro pud ta og mo-ingon ta na ‘di ko ana’ because it’s really an honor to be endorsed,” he added.
According to Cacho, a consultation will be held among members of the Padayon Bol-anon to determine who their standard bearer will be for the PCL elections.
Cacho will no longer be among those considered as candidate for the post but he hopes that Gonzaga will be in the running along with Berongoy and Adiong, who both refused to abandon their bids.
“Naay consultation meeting, e-schedule na sa tanang councilors sa tibuok Bohol under sa Padayon Bol-anon…so mao ng maningkamot mi na ma-apil sa Gonzaga sa consultation kay basin pwede…Option ran a siya na si Gonzaga econsider,” Cacho said.
Cacho who was among the first councilors to express intent to run for the PCL presidency said that he will instead be running for vice president of the league and will be supporting Gonzaga.
“Dako siya’g matabang sa Sangguniang Panlalawigan, dako g’yud, kahibalo ko ana. He will be an asset sa SP because of his expertise isip usa ka lawyer ug beterano na mambabalaod,” he said.
Sikatuna Councilor Constancio Rule and Panglao Councilor Dennis Hora, who ran under defeated gubernatorial bet Leoncio Evasco, Jr.’s ticket during the May polls, have also surfaced as possible contenders in the PCL race.
Dauis Councilor Vieto Racho who was earlier reported to have also been gunning for the seat backed out due to his family’s request.
The PCL provincial president gets a chance to earn a seat in the group’s regional and national levels and automatically becomes an ex-officio Provincial Board member. (A. Doydora)