TAGUM CITY — Davao del Norte First District Rep. Anthony del Rosario on Tuesday tagged the move of Davao del Norte Vice Governor Victorio Suaybaguio as “unnecessary, unexpected and incomprehensible.”
“VRS’s actions were unnecessary, unexpected, and incomprehensible, to say the least. We could not and still cannot understand why he bolted from the Liberal Party, where he was highly respected as the Provincial Vice Chairman since 2010,” he said in a statement.
Del Rosario said that the event that had transpired last Friday took him by surprise. He said that Suaybaguio, a staunch ally of his father Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, has violated the agreement between the leadership of the provincial chapter of the Liberal Party.
“More importantly, we could not and cannot understand why he went against the agreement arrived at through months of consultations among the leaders of Provincial LP Chapter, which included VRS and eventually with the KBP leadership,” del Rosario said.
He claimed that Suaybaguio has “never voiced his concerns and anxieties to anyone within the LP” as to what pushed him to withdraw his certificate of candidacy as Davao del Norte congressman and to file a new COC as governor.
In fact, del Rosario said that Suaybaguio has made several requests to the party. He said Suaybaguio “requested that he will be given the chance to run for governor.” Weeks after, Suaybaguio has personally requested del Rosario to run as governor.
“VRs reasoned to me that I would be the best candidate for governor since I could ensure the continuity of the programs that RDR started in 2007. He even told me that I had to continue my father’s legacy in the province,” he said.
In a hastily called press conference yesterday morning, Suaybaguio has officially announced that he is no longer a member of the Liberal Party. He also formally announced his gubernatorial bid in the province as an independent candidate.
Suaybaguio claimed that the Party itself wants him to be irrelevant, an allegation denied by the del Rosarios. “They ignored me as if I did not exist even if I was part of the ticket” said Suaybaguio.
“But worst of all, they fielded candidates to run against me as a congressman of District 1. Governor Del Rosario, whom we believe fielded his close ally, Arrel Olaño, who has a pending case involving the (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scandal, to run against me,” he said.
“As a loyal ally to them, I was the most logical choice to be governor. But much to my dismay I was denied several times,” Suaybaguio said, referring to Davao del Norte’s political kingpins—the del Rosario’s and Floirendo’s.
Despite the turn of the events, del Rosario said that he will now focus on his candidacy as governor to continue building his father’s legacy of what he described as “transformative leadership.”
“In spite of this very unfortunate and difficult situation, I still wish VRS all the best,” he said. (davaotoday.com)
