Chiz Escudero is Lito Osmeña’s VP bet

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Former Cebu Governor Emilio Osmeña announced Thursday, March 31, that he is supporting Senator Francis Escudero’s candidacy for vice president in the May 9 elections.

He said he is supporting Escudero “for the people’s sake.”

In a text message, Escudero expressed gratitude over Osmeña’s endorsement of his vice presidential bid.

“I thank him for his expression of support. I respect and admire his patriotism and deep love and understanding of the Cebuanos, their history, and culture,” Escudero told Sun.Star.

Escudero is the running mate of Senator Grace Poe.

Osmeña announced earlier that he would vote for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for president because of the latter’s campaign for federalism and fight against illegal drugs.

He said all the candidates are good, but Duterte and Escudero are “better” than the others.

Osmeña also said Thursday that he is supporting One Cebu candidates Winston Garcia for Cebu governor and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz for vice governor, because they have contributed to Cebu’s development even when he was still the province’s governor.

“They [Garcia and Soon-Ruiz] were the most helpful during my term [as Cebu governor],” he said. – Rappler.com 

This article is republished under Rappler’s content sharing agreement with the SunStar network in the coverage of the 2016 national and local elections.