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By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent .

THE decision to nominate former councilor President Elipe to the provincial board was a result of a meeting of only a handful of Padayon Pilipino top officials, three of whom are members of the Emano family.

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The meeting excluded local party chairpersons and members, and there was no party general assembly, revealed Councilor Leon Gan, the regional vice chairman of the Padayon Pilipino, on Tuesday.

Gan said he was among those who attended the meeting that decided on the nomination of Elipe for the position left vacant as a result of the November 2017 demise of provincial board member Mario Emano.

The meeting, according to Gan, included former governor and mayor Vicente Emano and his children Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, and Councilor Nadya Elipe.

The elder Emano is the Padayon Pilipino president while siblings Gov. Emano and Councilor Elipe are the party’s vice chairman and chairperson, respectively. The nominee is Ms. Elipe’s husband.

Asked if there were others who took part in the meeting, Gan said, “Wa na na gani sa among meeting kadtong mga provincial ug city party chairman. Kadto ra gyong mga top officials, naghisgot-hisgot, ug nahisgotan didto ang pag-nominate ni kagawad Elipe,” Gan said.

He could not say when the meeting took place. “Nakalimot ko kanus-a to, kay dugay-dunay na man gud to.”

Gan said he could also not say if the Padayon Pilipino officials talked with the family of the late provincial board member about the nomination.

“Wala nako mahibalo ana kon ila bang gikonsulta kay ila na kana,” he said.

Gan said there were two bases for the decision to nominate Elipe to the provincial board: his qualifications and his ranking in the 2016 elections in Misamis Oriental. Although Elipe lost in that election, he ranked sixth, next to the late provincial board member.

“Ta-as ta-as man sad tong iyang ranking sa milabay nga election sa probinsya, ug mahibalo pud siya. Mao nang usa sa mga qualification nga gibasihan sa pag-nominate niya,” Gan said.

On Tuesday, Elipe told local radio that the nomination was first offered to members of the late provincial board member’s family but they supposedly declined.

Elipe also claimed that his nomination was a result of a consensus in the regional party founded by his father-in-law. He said the decision-making involved his wife, in-laws, provincial board members, Misamis Oriental mayors and other officials.

Asked if the nomination was a result of consultations in the Padayon Pilipino, Elipe’s brother-in-law, Gov. Emano, said, “Naa man siguro.”

Padayon Pilipino deputy secretary general Gerardo Sabal III, a member of the provincial board, earlier told the Gold Star Daily that he was unaware of the nomination, that there were merely informal discussions about the matter, and that he would abide by that decision because Elipe is the preference of the party’s leader, ex-mayor Emano.

It was the elder Emano who signed the certificate of nomination of Elipe as Padayon Pilipino’s leader while it was the ex-councilor’s wife Nadya who exchanged letters with Malacañang about it.

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