THE battle lines in the top political echelon in Misamis Occidental have been drawn and it’s a toe-to-toe, three cornered fight among incumbents who are former allies and acquaintances.
Pitching in for the royal rumble for the congressional seat of the second district is incumbent Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos, Ozamiz mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. and Tangub mayor Jennifer Wee-Tan.
Also courting the votes of some 321,843 Misamisnons for their gubernatorial bid are Rep. Herminia Ramiro, Vice Gov. Francisco Paylaga Jr. and Ozamiz Vice Mayor Carlos Patricio Bernad.
Except for Ramiro and Parojinog who retained their loyalty with the ruling party, the other politicians mentioned in this report are once strong movers of Lakas-Kampi coalition.
Both Ocampos and Bernad are now pledging memberships with the Liberal Party (LP) while Paylaga opted to be a Nacionalista (NP) and Tan is in the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC).
Cracks in the Lakas-Kampi in Misamis Occidental started to show when Paylaga jumped overboard last March after being recruited by Sen. Manny Villar, followed by Bernad who tied up with Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s group last November and Tan crossing towards Danding Cojuangco’s camp. Lately, Ocampos’ took his turn to bolt out from the ruling party and into LP, joining the surprised Bernad.
Even with this unexpected change, records from the provincial Comelec office shows Lakas-Kampi still reigning with 14 bets, followed by NP with 12, PMP with 8, LP with 4, 6 independents and a lone NPC candidate.
REPORT BY MICHAEL MEDINA
Pitching in for the royal rumble for the congressional seat of the second district is incumbent Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos, Ozamiz mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. and Tangub mayor Jennifer Wee-Tan.
Also courting the votes of some 321,843 Misamisnons for their gubernatorial bid are Rep. Herminia Ramiro, Vice Gov. Francisco Paylaga Jr. and Ozamiz Vice Mayor Carlos Patricio Bernad.
Except for Ramiro and Parojinog who retained their loyalty with the ruling party, the other politicians mentioned in this report are once strong movers of Lakas-Kampi coalition.
Both Ocampos and Bernad are now pledging memberships with the Liberal Party (LP) while Paylaga opted to be a Nacionalista (NP) and Tan is in the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC).
Cracks in the Lakas-Kampi in Misamis Occidental started to show when Paylaga jumped overboard last March after being recruited by Sen. Manny Villar, followed by Bernad who tied up with Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s group last November and Tan crossing towards Danding Cojuangco’s camp. Lately, Ocampos’ took his turn to bolt out from the ruling party and into LP, joining the surprised Bernad.
Even with this unexpected change, records from the provincial Comelec office shows Lakas-Kampi still reigning with 14 bets, followed by NP with 12, PMP with 8, LP with 4, 6 independents and a lone NPC candidate.
REPORT BY MICHAEL MEDINA