Tug-of-war begins

By ALWEN SALIRING
and SHIELA MAE BUTLIG
Correspondents

MAYOR Oscar Moreno and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of the city’s 2nd District are now in a tug-of-war to win 1st District Rep. Rolando Uy to their side.

Politicians from the Moreno and Rodriguez camps were in agreement that Uy, who commands a vote of nearly 50 thousand in the 1st District alone, is now the “best friend” of everyone who wants to win in next year’s mayoral elections wants to have at this time.

Uy bagged 48,026 votes when he ran for congressman in the 1st District in 2013. In the 2010, Uy nearly defeated Padayon Pilipino leader Vicente Emano who ran for mayor again while he was about to end his three-year term as vice mayor. Emano won with 99,853 votes against Uy’s 97,723 in the elections marred by the discovery of election materials, including compact flash cards for precinct count optical scan (Pcos) machines, at the city dump. The Pcos machines were used by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the 2010 elections.  “Whoever Klarex Uy supports and endorses in 2016 will most likely win, and it will make or break a campaign,” said Dr. Reuben Daba who lost in his bid for a city council seat in 2013 under the group of Moreno, Rodriguez and Uy. Daba is presently the city hall coordinator for the Childhood Development Center.

Rodriguez, who announced he would run for mayor on Sunday, is taking Uy seriously, and is courting his 1st District counterpart for support, said lawyer James Judith, a member of a group that staged an exodus from the Moreno to the Rodriguez camp on Sunday.

Judith served as a legal consultant to Moreno until Rodriguez’s surprise announcement on Sunday. Rodriguez earlier declared that Uy would be his candidate for congressman in the 1st District next year. But the Moreno camp claims the mayor has been in touch with Uy since Sunday, and the congressman supposedly assured the local chief executive of his unwavering support.

City hall spokesperson Maricel Rivera said the possibility of Uy leaving Moreno is nil, citing their years of political alliance and friendship.

Judith however said Rodriguez is not giving up on Uy, and that the congressman even formed a team just to win over the 1st District congressman to his side.

Daba, for his part, said the burden of choosing now lies on Uy’s shoulders. Uy, in an earlier interview with this paper, said he has yet to make a decision, and he would announce his decision during the filing of certificates of candidacy next month. Daba said he has remained with the Moreno camp but admitted that he was confused.

“Si Rufus and Moreno nagparamdam na sa ako pero wala akoy mapili kay pulos sila maayo ug alyado ko sa miaging eleksyon,” he said.

Daba however said he was leaving the matter to Uy, and would support whoever the 1st District congressman endorses because “si Klarex man ang akong amahan sa politika ug dako akong utang kabubut-on kaniya.”

Daba also expressed his disappointment over the Moreno-Rodriguez break-up, adding that he was still hopeful that the mayor and the congressman would unite again for the sake of Cagayanons.

While ex-mayor Emano would likely capitalize on it in his bid to take back city hall next year, Daba said he doubted that a three-cornered fight for the mayoral post would be advantageous to the former mayor.

“Giluwa na siya (Emano) sa katawhan during the ‘Sendong’ times, and never in (Cagayan de Oro) history nga dunay gipabalik sa katawhan diha sa katungdanan,” Daba said.