VOWING to deliver more than two million votes, the One Cebu party has declared its full and unconditional support for the senatorial candidacy of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez who will be their “malasakit” (compassionate) leader in the Senate.
Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia said Romualdez’s “malasakit” advocacies are in perfect sync with the One Cebu’s platform, ideals and vision especially on infrastructure.
“One Cebu is fully supporting the candidacy of Rep. Martin Romualdez for senator,” said Garcia, a stalwart of One Cebu party, on the significant votes that the party would deliver to Romualdez in Cebu which has 2.7 million registered voters.
“We believe that he [Romualdez] will be the compassionate voice in the Senate for the Visayas especially Cebu,” said Garcia on the party which was responsible behind a one-million vote lead in 2004 by former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Cebu over her closest rival in the presidential race.
One Cebu had also thrown its full support to the presidential bid of Davao City Rep. Rodrigo Duterte who also endorsed Romualdez’s senatorial bid.
Romualdez, head of the House Independent Bloc and a three-term congressman who is running for the Senate under a platform anchored on compassionate governance, as one of his guest senatorial candidates for sharing similar platforms of government in ensuring peace and order, curbing graft and corruption, giving free college education, and improving health services through zero-billing for the indigents.
Romualdez assured Filipinos that he would push in-city resettlement through decent and affordable housing program for informal settlers and urban poor communities to guarantee the preservation of their jobs and livelihood, institutionalizing, increasing and making Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) or the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) accessible to all free of any discrimination; ending the “contractualization” system; and champion further the interests of persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Earlier, Romualdez’s senatorial candidacy was endorsed by at least 500 urban poor groups under the Sulong Mamamayang Pilipino (Sumapil).
The 2,000-strong Batasan Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association with 16 umbrella organizations and four other big organizations of tricycles in the National Capital Region also declared their support for Romualdez.
The so-called “Big 4” in the transport sector led by Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP) national president Orlando Marquez, Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) national president Efren De Luna, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap) national president Zenaida Maranan, and Pangkalahatang Sanggunian Manila and Suburbs Drivers Association Nationwide (Pasang Masda) national president Robert “Ka Obet” Martin, declared support to Romualdez.
Romualdez was credited for the successful passage into law of his measure exempting PWDs from the payment of 12-percent value-added tax on certain goods and services.
Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, finished his undergraduate studies with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1985 and obtained in 1988 a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from the Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Romualdez ran unopposed in the last polls and a former chairman of the House committee on ethics and privileges. Romualdez’s, who has been endorsed by former President-turned reelectionist Manila City Mayor Erap Estrada, key platforms are focused at improving jobs, health, education, agriculture and disaster preparedness.
The House opposition leader from Visayas is also a shared senatorial candidate of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and has been endorsed by the 40-man Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. and the Nationalist People’s Coalition or the country’s second-largest political party.