Loyalty is valuable to the Liberal Party (LP) and it is wrong to claim that there were many mayors who jumped to enemy camps because they were not issued Certificates of Official Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs).

The administration party in Bohol has reiterated that it gathered indications that validated and proved some members’ certain acts  contrary to party positions or rules.

LP provincial chairman Gov. Edgar Chatto on Friday further clarified particularly the case of the Third District where 10 of 19 mayors have been claimed by the opposition group.

In the first place, three of these mayors are not party members and, thus, they do not belong to the LP.

Two other mayors are not reelectionist incumbents because they are, by law, no, longer eligible for one more term and, therefore, cannot claim equity of the incumbent.

One mayor was issued an LP CONA but chose to join the enemy camp while another did not show up in a meeting on the issuance of CONA for  an obvious reason, which the party hierarchy respects.

On the other hand, a mayor had already declared he would retire from politics, prodding his ally vice mayor to run for mayor and build up his slate under LP.

Suddenly, however, the mayor changed mind and had to get an opposition CONA.

Two mayors had their loyalty to the LP  a disturbing issue, even way back to the election of officers of the Bohol mayors’ league.

The reelectionists of the 10 aforementioned mayors all run as PDP-Laban candidates.

The decision of some to abandon the administration group and defect to the opposition is still respected by  LP stalwarts led by Chatto and his runningmate, Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim.

During his weekly Kita ug Ang Gobernador program, Chatto also reiterated full support to Third District Rep. Arthur Yap of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) as official administration congressional bet.

This is on strength of the LP-NPC coalition in his district with imprimatur from the LP national directorate.

Yap had served under Roxas when the latter was secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Rep. Rene Relampagos is the LP candidate for congressman in the First District.

DIFFERENT STORY

Politics has taken a different turn in the Second District where a coalition with the LP is unfeasible because of  what appears to be a “tactical arrangement” between the NPC and UNA against the administration group.

Reelectionist mayors and other candidates close to Rep. Aris Aumentado filed their candidacies either under the NPC, the solon’s party, or UNA.

The reelectionist mayors of Buenavista and Getafe and the vice mayor of Danao, who is staging a mayoralty comeback, both run under UNA against the LP candidates.

The Danao candidate is said to be UNA’s regional party chairman while the Getafe mayor has been authorized as the district chairman for the purpose of endorsing and issuing CONAs.

The incumbent LP mayors of Ubay, Talibon, Sagbayan, Inabanga and Clarin are contested by NPC candidates while the LP bets in the district’s seven other towns also face either UNA or NPC  opponents.

These could indicate no coalition with the LP exists unlike in the Third District, according to Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II who is the LP provincial campaign manager.

Aumentado’s reelection bid is opposed by Board Member Gerry Garcia who is gunning for congressman under the National Unity Party (NUP).

Aumentado and Garcia are erstwhile allies, both being in the same ticket in the 2013 election.

The Third District situation is different because no LP member is interested to run for congressman against Yap and, thus, the LP-NPC coalition proceeded and got approved by the LP national directorate.

In the Second District, former Rep. Roberto Cajes of LP then manifested a comeback and national party president DOTC Sec. Joseph Emilio Aabaya even informed Chatto that the national LP had consequently issued Cajes’ CONA.

However, Cajes never filed his candidacy for a rematch with Aumentado until the Commission on Elections (Comelec) deadline had elapsed.

Chatto said they respect the decision of Cajes and his family.

Meanwhile, Garcia’s LP CONA for reelection as a board member was already issued yet he decided in the end—obviously as a twist of event prompted by Cajes’ “backout”—to run for congressman under NUP.

While he belonged to Aumentado’s group in the NPC in the last election, Garcia has long signified his intent to be a congressman.

The LP had to find an eleventh-hour replacement for Garcia for board member.