The more than 100,000 Members-Consumers-Owners (MCOs) of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) are coming out in full force to deliver in the May 9 election, a resounding “No!” to the reelection bids of Davao del Norte First District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez and Governor Edwin Jubahib.
The revenge ‘Nordeco Vote’ is electrified by efforts of Alvarez and Jubahib to cancel the franchise of Nordeco and turn over operation of the 60-year old cooperative to Davao Light and Power Company of power giant Aboitiz Group.
Nordeco and the MCOs vehemently opposed the take-over with a position paper signed by the MCOs against the power grab.
Former House Speaker Alvarez of the opposition party Reporma authored the House bill that would give Davao Light , which already has a franchise covering Davao del Norte’s Second District, the right to operate in the province’s First District. Jubahib was behind a signature campaign calling to disenfranchise Nordeco.
The Nordeco Vote would come as a fatal blow to the reelection bids of Alvarez and Jubahib who are facing opposition from candidates of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) of vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
The reelection of Alvarez, former ally turned foe of President Rodrigo Duterte, is facing an uphill battle against Tristan Aala (HNP); first termer Jubahib is gunning for reelection contested by veteran politician Board member Roy Catalan.
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.
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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).
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