A third town mayor from Camarines Sur, the home province and bailwick of presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo, on Saturday, Jan. 22, denied reports that he is backing the candidacy of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sipocot Mayor Tomas Bocago, one of the remaining nine mayors from the original 11 who was said to support Marcos’ presidency, said in a Facebook post that he is for Robredo.
“Malinaw ang direksyon ng aking pamamahala, mahalaga ang naging ambag ng yumaong Ninong Jess Roberdo sa mga prinsipyong pampulitika ng inyong lingkod. Hinding hindi ko tatalikuran ang pinunong subok ang kakayahan sa lahat ng panahon lalo na sa panahon ng pandemya (The direction of my governance is clear, the contributions of the late Ninong Jess Robredo is important in my political principles. I will never turn my back on a leader whose competency is tested in every situation, especially in the time of pandemic),” he wrote.
“Lubos ang aking paghanga sa pinunong mahusay, walang bahid kurapsyon at malinis ang (I have great admiration for a leader who is competent, with no stead of corruption, and has a clean) track record na uri ng pamamahala (in the kind of governance),” Bocago added.
READ: Robredo unfazed as rival Marcos camp claims support of 11 CamSur mayors
He used the hashtags #SipocotSupportsLeniRobredo and #BetterTomorrowsaGobyernongTapat in his post. The latter was in reference to Robredo’s campaign slogan, “Gobyernong Tapat, Angat Buhay Lahat.”
The local executive said he didn’t plan on addressing the issue, but it has become a huge topic on social media and in a number of radio programs.
Similar to what Pamplona Mayor Ronaldo “Boy” Franco and Milaor Mayor Anthony Reyes said about being invited to a League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) meeting by its president, Narvacan Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson, Bocago shared that the traditional picture-taking occurred with Marcos after the meeting.
Franco and Reyes, however, were not pictured with the former senator, saying that they knew this could be misconstrued as a show of support.
The Sipocot mayor said in Filipino that the meeting and the photo had “nothing to do with political endorsement.”