Aksyon Demokratiko’s Iloilo province chair resigns

ILOILO CITY, Philippines –  New Lucena town Sangguniang Kabataan President Bryan Cerebo tendered his resignation as Iloilo provincial chair of Aksyon Demokratiko on April 28, a day after the party’s presidential candidate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso capped his tour of Panay Island and Guimaras.

BREAKING: New Lucena town SK President Bryan Cerebo tendered his resignation as Iloilo provincial chair of Aksyon Demokratiko on April 28, a day after the party’s presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso capped his tour of Panay Island and Guimaras. @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/DpPk7oirdV

— Joey Marzan (@josephbamarzan) April 28, 2022

Cerebo’s reason for resigning was the “poor coordination of the national campaign [and] difference with the principles and stand of [Domagoso].”

“Mayor Isko’s recent interviews made him seem different from the one I’ve admired from before. If I remain to be Provincial Chairman of Aksyon for Iloilo Province, I will just be unfair to the Party and to Mayor Isko,” the young politician added.

Moreno in an Easter Sunday press conference demanded that Vice President Leni Robredo withdraw from the presidential race in what seemed a fit of pique over calls for him, the third placer in national surveys, to give way to the lone woman contesting the country’s top post.

Cerebro stressed, however, that he would remain with the party, saying he believed in the “principles and convictions laid down by the late Senator Raul Roco and continued by a new breed of leaders such as Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.”

Despite the setback, Moreno continued to be upbeat on the fourth day of his Western Visayan tour, visiting Bacolod City and Binalbagan town.

“In all honesty ang silent majority, mararamdaman mo talaga. Feeling ko, ayaw na talaga ng tao ng away ng pula at dilaw,” said Moreno, still presenting himself as the alternative candidate in a polarized society during an ambush interview at the Bacolod city government center. 

The Manila mayor also presented his own unity statement focused on “meritocracy,” saying he would appoint competent persons to his government, regardless of their political affiliations.

Pula and dilaw (red and yellow) are the colors associated with presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the late President Benigno Aquino III, respectively.

Moreno also mentioned the “yellows” and their “cancel culture” during an interview with Radyo Bandera DYQU, implying that Aquino’s base is influential in Robredo’s campaign.

“Malalaman mo, marami ang silent majority. Hindi mo naririnig kasi tired na sila sa away,” he told broadcaster Jean Paul Generoso. 

“Ang iba takot maalis sa trabaho,” the Manila mayor added.

“But when they see you, they come out,” Moreno said, stressing the “organic nature of his following.”

He said at the Bacolod City government employees sacrificed lunch to see him in his second courtesy call on Mayor Evelio Leonardia during the campaign season.

He also took swipes at his more moneyed rivals.

“Ang mga kalaban ko puro special child,” Moreno said. He made it clear he was not referring to differently abled persons by immediately describing unnamed candidates as “the lucky ones”, from backgrounds where “gina piko gina pala ang kwarta,” an Ilonggo idiom referring to the very rich.

“Ako, outsider, so derecho ako sa tao,” (I go straight to the people) the Manila mayor said, pointing to himself as a genuine people’s candidate who dialogues with voters town hall style, “sa kalsada, sa basketball court, sa community center.” – Rappler.com

Joseph B.A. Marzan is a Visayas-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.