DAVAO CITY—Just as everyone had predicted, House Speaker Prospero Nograles finally declared he is running for mayor in Davao City, a post that incumbent mayor Rodrigo Duterte had held for years.
GUESS, NO MORE. House Speaker Prospero Nograles finally declares his bid to run for mayor in Davao City. (davaotoday.com photo by Jose Hernani)
“I decided to run for mayor,” Nograles told the media only hours before he filed his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office at 12 noon Saturday.
“This is not a personal fight between the Nograleses and the Dutertes or a fight between ‘Boy’ (Nograles’ nickname) and Rody (Duterte),’” said Nograles, known as Duterte’s political rival.
“His term is about to end, so, maybe the people might want to try a new leadership.”
This will be the third time that Nograles runs for mayor, a post that Duterte held for close to 20 years.
Nograles is now on his last term in the House of Representative. Since Duterte, now on his last term as mayor, could no longer run against Nograles, Duterte’s daughter Sara, the vice mayor, had earlier declared her interest to run for the post currently held by her father.
Sara has not yet filed her certificate of candidacy as of press time, however.
Nograles will run with former mayor Benjamin de Guzman as vice mayor. De Guzman used to be Duterte’s close ally before politics tore them apart.
Nograles announced his bid at the house of slain journalist Ferdie “Batman” Lintuan, whose murder until now, has not been solved. Nograles said he wants a “change” in the “style of leadership” in the city.
TEAM NOGRALES. Nograles with running mate Benjamin de Guzman, a former Davao City mayor. Nograles’ son Karlo will run for the House of Representative in the first district of Davao City. (davaotoday.com photo by Jose Hernani)
Nograles said it is high time that the local government should focus on something else, aside from peace and order. He only answered few questions from the media but handed a ready-made statement on his announcement to run.
He proceeded to a mass at the San Pedro cathedral before heading towards the Comelec office to file his candidacy. Nograles’ son Karlo, who also served as his chief of staff, is running for the House of Representatives in Davao City first district. (Grace S. Uddin/davaotoday.com)
