Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno runs for Misamis Oriental governor

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno is seeking his old post in Misamis Oriental just months before he steps down as the city’s chief executive.

Moreno filed his certificate of candidacy for governor before the Commission on Elections provincial office on Thursday, October 7.

The 71-year-old Moreno, who hails from Balingasag town, Misamis Oriental, launched his gubernatorial bid nine years after he unseated Cagayan de Oro mayor Vicente Emano who, until 2013, was the reputed political kingpin of the province and the city.

A corporate lawyer, Moreno’s political career started in 1998, when he was elected representative of the 1st District of Misamis Oriental.

He rose to national prominence when he served as one of the House prosecutors during the now aborted impeachment trial of then president Joseph Estrada.

Moreno was elected governor of Misamis Oriental in 2004 and reelected in the 2007 and 2010 elections.

Moreno is facing two formidable political opponents: former Misamis Oriental 1st District congressman and now Gingoog City Vice Mayor Pedro Unabia and Misamis Oriental 2nd District Representative Juliette Uy.

Moreno’s group left their candidates for congressmen in Misamis Oriental’s 1st and 2nd districts blank, a move that raised questions about what the group was up to.

City hall spokesperson Maricel Rivera, a candidate for provincial board member in the provincial board, said their group sent lawyers Ernesto Neri and Richard Rejas to file their COCs on their behalf to avoid crowding.

“We don’t want anyone catching COVID-19 just because we filed our COCs,” said Rivera.

Moreno’s running mate is former congressman Ariel Hernandez, now head of the Joint Normalization Committee under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

Hernandez, who hails from Gingoog City, is a known non-governmental organization leader and a member of the Balay Mindanaw Foundation. – Rappler.com

Froilan Gallardo is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.