CEBU CITY — Key political figures in Cebu are leaving the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) one after the other.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard "Ahong" Chan has made a “difficult decision” to resign from PDP-Laban, becoming the third chief local executive in Cebu to bolt the country’s former ruling party in just a span of four days.
Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia was the first official from Cebu to leave PDP-Laban followed by Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Garcia resigned from the party last May 28 and Cortes followed suit a day after.
In his resignation letter submitted to PDP-Laban president Palawan Rep. Jose Alvarez, Chan said his departure from the party has something to do with Garcia’s decision to leave PDP-Laban.
“I have made this difficult decision to resign because I believe it is in the best interests of Lapu-Lapu City to maintain unity with the tri-cities and the province of Cebu. Although Lapu-Lapu City is a highly-urbanized city, we are inter-dependent and inter-connected as One Cebu Island, thus, I firmly believe that we must work harmoniously and strengthen our relationship with our neighboring local government units,” Chan said in his May 31 letter to Alvarez.
The tri-cities that Chan was referring to are Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu.
While Chan cited maintaining unity among the three cities, Garcia’s decision to leave PDP-Laban was anchored on her conflict with suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
Garcia said her continued membership with the party was no longer tenable after Rama filed a complaint against her before the Office of the President.
Rama’s complaint stemmed from Garcia’s order to stop the construction of bus stations near the Cebu Capitol as part of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project.
Rama is the PDP-Laban’s vice president for the Visayas.