Vice Governor Dionisio Balite who is on his first term as Bohol’s second highest ranking official announced Friday that he will be running for a seat in Congress through the province’s third district.
“Kamatayon ry makababag,” said Balite of his congressional bid during a press conference at his office.
Balite is expected to clash with former Carmen mayor Che Toribio delos Reyes for the district’s congressional seat which will be vacated by Rep. Arthur Yap who is on his last term.
Delos Reyes had earlier announced her intention to run for the third district post for the second time after losing to Yap in 2016.
In the same briefing, Balite told media that the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Bohol will be endorsing Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Jr. as gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 polls and it will be up to the latter to choose his running mate.
Balite made the announcements as he claimed that he has been appointed as the ruling PDP-Laban’s highest ranking official in the province amid a perceived infighting among the ranks of the party’s Bohol council.
The same post is being claimed by Dr. Dolereich Dumaluan, a longtime member of the party. Dumaluan and Balite claimed to be the provincial president and the provincial chairman, respectively.
“Sukad pa sa Enero 11, 2018, gi-pirmahan ni Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, ang national president sa atong PDP-Laban, ang akong pagka PDP-Laban chairman dinhi sa lalawigan sa Bohol,” said Balite. “Tungod na ako ang gi-tukma na chairman sa maong partido sa Bohol, way lain na g’yud ang makahatag pa og tingog sa maong partido ngadto sa katawhan kung di kaning nakighinabi ninyo.”
However, Dumaluan refuted Balite’s claim, noting that party rules indicate that there is no such position as provincial chairman.
“I do not know if authorized ba siya na peke man na iya, di man siya elected. There is no position na chairman. They have to resolve this one. Being at a higher rank than him [Balite], I think he should observe delicadeza, courtesy and decorum,” said Dumaluan who is also recognized as the party’s deputy secretary general for the Visayas.
Dumaluan said that he was elected as PDP-Laban Bohol president in 2012 and there was no election held since then. (RT)