Congressman Peter Ruwel Gonzaga (2nd District, Davao de Oro) was expected any time to dump President Rodrigo Duterte to join the opposition party Reporma of his political ally former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Reporma, chaired by Alvarez (First District, Davao del Norte), is fielding Senator Ping Lacson for president and Senator Tito Sotto for vice president in the 2022 election.
Gonzaga, still a member of the ruling PDP– Laban that Alvarez previously served as secretary general, was expected to bolt out of the ruling party chaired by Duterte, in his bid to take a crack at the Davao de Oro governorship in the 2022 election.
Gonzaga would be up against reelectionist Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, a Duterte political ally.
Alvarez last year resigned from PDP-Laban and severed ties with Duterte, after attacking the administration of his long time political ally for alleged limp-wristed approach to the Chinese intrusion in the West Philippine Sea and the government’s war on drugs, among others. Alvarez is seeking reelection in next year’s polls.
Gonzaga has filed a Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for reelection, but has given hint his new bid for a Congress seat is not yet final sparking speculations he would take a last-minute switch, with substitution being allowed by Comelec up to November 15, and challenge Governor Uy of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP), the regional party of presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
A Comelec ruling says, substitution of candidates maybe allowed but the candidate giving up and the substitute should belong to the same party.
If Gonzaga would run for governor, he has to resign from PDP-Laban and join Alvarez’s Reporma. He could then be a substitute candidate of former barngay captain Franco Tito, a Reporma member who has filed a COC for governor.
Speculations say that Tito was an”advance party” to the governor’s race for Gonzaga, who already had plans to run for governor by substitution. The congressman has junked a covenant with HNP, headed by its regional chair Davao de Oro Board member Arturo Chiongkee Uy, to support a united slate in the 2022 Davao de Oro polls and has instead organized a separate slate, a mix of PDP-Laban and Reporma members, against the HNP candidates.
Re-electionist Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (1st District, Davao del Norte) and his party mate gubernatorial bet Edwin Jubahib have gained points in results of the latest survey by Pulso Dabaw.
But the gains are no cause for celebration for the stalwarts of the Alvarez Wing of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino/Lakas ng Bayan (PDP/Laban), in the one-on-one battles with candidates of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP).
The coming May 13 election pits Alvarez against Gov. Anthony del Rosario (HNP) in the First District Congress race, Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr (HNP) vs. Vice Governor Alan Dujali (Alvarez Wing) in the 2nd District, with Board Member Rodney del Rosario (HNP) fighting Jubahib (Alvarez Wing) in the gubernatorial race.
In the 2nd survey of the Davao Region-based pollster, conducted during the period January 15-28, the HNP leading candidates took the top spots, as in the first survey covering the period January 8-14, with the Alvarez Wing bets stuck at the bottom.
In the 2nd survey, involving 500 respondents, Alvarez gained a point (115 votes or 23%) against his score of 77 or 22% in the previous survey involving 350 respondents.
But Gov. del Rosario maintained his wide lead in the second survey, 365 or 73%. His score in the first survey with 350 respondents was 255 or 73 percent.
Jubahib was also a winner by one percentile, 126 or 18%, compared to his first survey performance (59 or 17 percent).
But Rodney del Rosario is also up by one percentile with 574 or 82% in the second survey of 700 respondents compared to his score of 284 or 81% of 350 respondents.
In the 2nd District Dujali’s score was dormant at 6% from 30 votes against the previous survey of 21 votes or 6 percent of 350 respondents.
Against Dujali, Floirendo was an unreachable star with 460 or 92 %, gaining the same percentile as in the previous survey (322 or 92% of 350 respondents).
The survey is not commissioned by any group or person, according to Jovita Salvador, Pulso Dabaw president and chief executive officer.
Rigor Zabala, Pulso Dabaw Field Operations chief, said for the 2nd survey, three five-member survey teams took responses in face-to-face interviews from 700 respondents throughout the province, 500 in the First District and 500 in the Second District. Respondents in the interviews were of voting age.
The respondents were asked the question: IF THE MAY 13 ELECTION IS HELD TODAY WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR AS…(GOVERNOR/CONGRESSMAN)?
Salvador said the results of the two surveys which are more or less similar, is a potential indication of what could be the results of its coming surveys.
If the pattern persists in the next one or two surveys, we can safely say that the final outcome in this election would tilt favorably to the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, said Salvador.
The Pulso Dabaw head however said that other factors may intervene during the election campaign period that may affect the winning advantages now enjoyed by HNP.
Salvador pointed out these “winning advantages” as the dominance for decades of the Floirendo and Del Rosario team over the political landscape of Davao del Norte.
She adds that the support Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and the HNP, a regional political party of the presidential daughter, will play a crucial role in the victory of the Floirendo/Del Rosario team.
Salvador said that the Alvarez Wing is hobbled by a weak bench. Alvarez, still nursing the wounds of his ouster as Speaker of the House of Representatives in July last year, has picked virtual unknown Jubahib, his personal assistant, to run for governor, and Dujali against politically-entrenched Floirendo.
According to Salvador, Pulso Dabaw was expected to release anytime results of its 3rd survey, conducted from February 4 to 15 involving 2,000 respondents.
The challenger of Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. in Davao del Norte’s 2nd District Congress race is reportedly calling it quits in light of a survey showing his rating far down in the cellar.
The reelectionist Floirendo, running under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) flew high with a 92 percent score in the survey by Davao Region-based pollster Pulso Dabaw.
Dujali of the Alvarez Wing of 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez scored a measly 6 percent.
The result of the Pulso Dabaw survey jibes with other local surveys showing the HNP bets winning by wide margins versus the Alvarez Wing candidates.
Reelectionist First District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez and his candidate for Governor are in a stiff fight in the race to the bottom of pre-poll surveys for the coming May election.
Alvarez, his political stock downed by his ouster in July as Speaker of the House of Representatives and battered by allegations of corruption, was a few points away from Zero in the survey conducted by Pulso Dabaw. Gubernatorial bet Edwin Jubahib, a virtual unknown and candidate of Alvarez’s “Alvarez Wing” competed with Alvarez in the neck-to-neck race to the bottom of the survey, the first by the Davao Region-based pollster in relation to the 2019 mid-term election. The survey was conducted during the period January 8-14, 2019 involving 1,200 respondents. Three Pulso Dabaw five-member teams separately generated results of the survey in face-to-face encounters with respondents of voting age in the province (500 respondents), First Congressional District (350 repondents) and Second Congressional District (350 respondents). The respondents were asked the question: IF THE 2019 MID-TERM ELECTION IS HELD TODAY WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR AS…(GOVERNOR/CONGRESSMAN)? In the race for Governor, Rodney del Rosario was picked by 284 repondents or 81 percent against Jubahib’s 59 or 17%. 2% or seven of the respondents were undecided. In the First District race, Anthony del Rosario clobbered Alvarez with a high 255 respondents (73%) against the former Speaker who got the nod of a measly 77 or 22%. The undecided numbered 18 repondents (5%). Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. in the Second District survey, was picked by 322 respondents (92%) with Dujali netting an extremely low 21 (6%), with 7 (2%) in the Undecided bracket. Rodney del Rosario, a sitting member of the Provincial Board, and younger brother, incumbent Governor Anthony del Rosario are cousins of Floirendo.
The Del Rosarios and Floirendo are running under the banner of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP), a regional party organized by presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. Alvarez, Jubahib and Dujali carry the banner of the Alvarez Wing, a local bloc aligned with the PDP/Laban, of which Alvarez is the secretary general. Jovita Salvador, Pulso Dabaw chief executive officer, said the survey is uncommissioned. Salvador said it would release soon results of survey conducted during the period January 15-28, which shall include a poll on voters’ preference in the cities of Igacos (Island Garden City of Samal), Tagum and Panabo. She explained that its first surveys zeroed in on Davao del Norte as it is the only province in the Davao Region where the coming election is “most politically pronounced.” Salvador said that while there is also a “hot contest’ in the race for Governor in Davao del Sur, candidates for top positions in other provinces (Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental) are either reelectionist incumbents backed by Mayor Duterte-Carpio’s HNP or are facing only token opposition.
Saboteurs suspected as belonging to the political opposition are suspected to be behind rotten rice in bags of relief goods passed off as distributed by the Davao del Norte Capitol in the aftermath of massive floods that hit the province recently.
As floods swept several parts of the province two weeks ago, Governor Anthony del Rosario ordered distribution of relief goods to families hit by the disaster. The assistance included canned goods and rice.
Another disaster, however, came with the flooding disaster whose effect on the affected families Gov. del Rosario wanted to mitigate with the immediate distribution of the relief goods.
The disaster? Unidentified saboteurs, clearly with ill intent to shame the provincial government, also distributed rotten rice stuffed in bags with markings of the provincial government.
The bags were doled out in the flood-hit barangays by the saboteurs who announced that the assistance came from the Office of the Governor.
In a statement, Capitol decried the “dirty tactic” employed by groups out to smear the current administration.
It did not name names but said the sabotage is the handiwork of politicians resorting to dirty tactics to discredit the Del Rosario administration.
Capitol advised the public to report to authorities persons distributing the rotten rice.
Capitol said it is investigating to establish the identity of the “saboteurs and their political patrons who are masterminding the racket in a futile bid to escape an impending debacle in the mid-term election in May.”
The distribution of the rotten rice is the second dirty trick launched against the Del Rosario administration during the last few weeks as the start of the local election campaign period draws near.
Three weeks ago, printed copies of results of an alleged survey by the prestigious Social Weather Station (SWS) were distributed in the barangays.
The survey had candidates of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP/Laban) winning by wide margins against bets of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP).
PDP/Laban is bannered in the province by former House Speaker and First District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez who is running for reelection.
HNP is a regional political party organized by presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
The HNP slate is piloted by Gov. del Rosario, who has skipped a reelection bid to challenge Alvarez.
Also in the HNP line-up are reelectionist Second District Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. against Vice Gov. Alan Dujali of the PDP/Laban; and Senior Board Member Rodolfo “Rodney” del Rosario Jr., who is pitted against a virtual unknown, Edwin Jubahib of the PDP/Laban, in the race for Governor.
Mahar Mangahas, president and chief executive officer of SWS, disowned the survey, saying that the company has not conducted any survey in Davao del Norte.
Printed copies of the results of the survey carried the logo of the prestigious company.
Mangahas said it is identifying the persons or groups behind the fake survey who shall be slapped with legal action.
Meanwhile, a Davao Region-based survey outfit Pulso Dabaw, last week released the results of its first political survey in Davao del Norte in relation to the mid-term election.
The results were a complete reverse of the results of the “fake SWS survey” and showed HNP candidates in landslide wins against the PDP/Laban candidates.
Pulso Dabaw said it will release results of its second survey any time this week.
Political observers say that the reelection of Alvarez is practically on its route to the dumpsite as he is ranged against the Floirendo-del Rosario combine which has ruled the political landscape of Davao del Norte for decades. Also in the bench of the HNP is veteran politician former governor Rodolfo Del Rosario Sr., father of the Governor and Rodney, who has emerged from political retirement to act as HNP Davao del Norte campaign manager.
Floirendo and the del Rosarios are also backed by Mayor Duterte-Carpio and her HNP.
The feisty daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte had vowed to campaign against the reelection of the former Speaker after Alvarez described her HNP as an “opposition party.”
She would call Alvarez an “asshole” and a liability to the administration of President Duterte.
Mayor Duterte-Carpio is reported to have used political muscle in the ouster of Alvarez as Speaker in a coup last year.
President Duterte later would say, after Alvarez was replaced by former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, that his daughter “masterminded” the ouster of Alvarez.
But the gains are no cause for celebration for the stalwarts of the Alvarez Wing of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino/Lakas ng Bayan (PDP/Laban), in the one-on-one battles with candidates of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP).
GOTO DAVAO - LIFE IS HERE 