CEBU’s third district officials were reportedly not invited to join One Cebu party’s endorsement of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (BBM) in his bid for the presidency in the May 2022 elections.Third District Board Member John Ismael “Jimbo” Borgonia told SunStar Cebu Wednesday, April 13, 2022, that none of them, including the officials from the seven local government units (LGUs), who are members of the party, were invited to attend the general assembly at the Sky Hall of SM Seaside City Cebu last Tuesday, April 12.“Yes, walay [niadto], bisan usa (no one went, not even one). As far as I know, wala pud gi invite (they were also not invited),” said Borgonia.The third district LGUs are the towns of Barili, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, Balamban, Asturias, Tuburan and Toledo City.Borgonia believes the move of the party, which is led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, was just out of respect to them since Deputy Speaker and Third District Rep. Pablo John “PJ” Garcia, has been openly supporting Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso for president.“Siguro out of respect na lang sa mga officials sa third district tungod ni Congressman Pablo John, mao nang wala lang mi giapil or gi-invite sa proclamation ni BBM as official candidate sa One Cebu,” said Borgonia.Following the announcement of the party’s decision to endorse Marcos on Tuesday, PJ, the younger brother of the governor, stepped down as secretary-general of One Cebu to avoid a “conflict of interest” as he intends to continue actively campaigning for Domagoso.Backing IskoIn his statement, PJ said he could not support Marcos, adding that he had been consistent about his support for Domagoso’s candidacy as he believes that he is the most capable and best prepared to lead the country.In his previous Facebook posts, PJ also hinted that he would not support Marcos’ candidacy, using the hashtag #NeverAgain, which has been widely used online to condemn the administration of Bongbong’s father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country for 20 years until his ouster in 1986 during the Edsa People Power Revolution.In a Dec. 3, 2021 post, PJ said his father, Pablo Garcia, who later became Cebu governor, had played a role in the anti-Marcos movement as a lawyer for the opposition during the 1986 snap election.PJ then invited netizens to read a Feb. 9, 1986 Los Angeles Times story on the snap elections “to remember (or learn) what it was to live under Marcos.”The board member stressed that as officials from the third district, they would follow PJ on who he would support.Borgonia, who is a lawyer, said he personally supports Domagoso, as he cited the concert of the latter in Toledo City that he joined along with the third district officials.“Abogado man sad ta (I am also a lawyer). Look at the professionals, lawyers, except for the paid lawyers, we can understand them since that is their means of living. But lawyers, in general, they look at the Supreme Court decisions where there is evidence and it has been proven nga dili maayo pagkadala sa panahon ni (that governance was not good in the time of the elder) Marcos, which until now, bisa’g wala’y sala si BBM, di siya makapanghunaw kay naa man siya part sa Marcos wealth, pagtago ug wala pag-uli. In fact, kaning wala pagbayad og buhis (even if BBM is not at fault, he cannot wash his hands of it because he had a part in the Marcos wealth, hiding it and not returning it. In fact, the non-payment of taxes),” he stressed.Borgonia, however, clarified that they remain members of the ruling party despite having a different choice of presidential candidate to support.One Cebu’s choiceOne Cebu formalized its endorsement of Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for president and vice president during its general assembly Tuesday afternoon.In her speech, Garcia said the decision could not be made by her alone, stressing that she needed the inputs and voice of its members down to the barangay level.She noted the party’s first convention, where majority expressed support for Marcos Jr. but the governor explained that she could not yet immediately announce a decision.Borgonia, however, said he had no idea about the final result of their voting at the time, adding that there may have been some officials aside from those in the third district that did not express support for Marcos.Ditching alliesMeanwhile, veteran lawyer Democrito “Mocring” Barcenas, who supports the presidential bid of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, said he had expected One Cebu to support Marcos.“That is expected kay nag-ilog kana sila sa puntil sa (they are fighting over the purse of) Malacañang,” Barcenas said in a text message to SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.“Mao nay gihimo sa mga Garcia sa 2016. Ilang gibiyaan si (then Vice President Jejomar) Binay, tan-aw nila nga mapildi na. Moari kana sila ni Leni kon si Marcos pildihonon na,” Barcenas added. (That’s what the Garcias did in 2016. They left former Vice President Binay when they saw that he would lose. They will transfer to Leni if Marcos is losing already.)In March 2016, One Cebu severed its partnership with the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) launched by Binay for his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election, saying the party had been treated with disrespect after UNA conducted sorties in Cebu without consulting its local allies, and its officials cavorted with “the opponents of our local candidates, thus sowing disunity, discord and confusion.”Lawyer Jay Pujanes, who leads the group Lawyers for Leni, told SunStar Cebu Wednesday that he isn’t worried about One Cebu endorsing Marcos, adding that Robredo was able to secure a massive victory in Cebu during the 2016 elections even without backing from One Cebu.“In 2016, Gwen and One Cebu also did not endorse VP Leni, but she still won in Cebu and got over 800,000 votes compared to BBM’s 307,000 votes. VP Leni was not even that popular when she ran in 2016. Yet she still won in Cebu because Cebuanos are wise voters,” Pujanes added. (MKG, JKV, CTL)