Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio expressed her appreciation and thanks to the BBM-SARA supporters in Bohol particularly the One Bohol BBM-SARA Alliance, for staging various activities during the kickoff event on Feb. 19, 2022, which culminated at the old Tagbilaran City airport.
As this developed, One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance president Cylwin Bomediano said the alliance formed to support Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio is not a copycat as insinuations would put it.
CLEARING THE ISSUE
Bomediano in a radio interview cleared the air on certain issues linked with the alliance which he leads.
Bomediano was guest in the Feb. 22, 2022 episode of Open Forum hosted by Dave Albarado and the former was straight and firm in his declarations against statements released by another political leader who tried to discredit the alliance during another radio program.
Such statemens, among others, include the following:
- Walay blessing ni Mayor Sara ang One Bohol Alliance kay wala mo coordinate ang grupo sa angay nga saludohan sa Bohol.
- Karon na hinuon nanurok ning mga grupoha (One Bohol …) nga nikusog na sila BBM ug SARA. Dis-a man daan ?
- Daghang na dismaya kay wala muabot si Bongbong ug si Sara.
- Naay gipaboran nga local candidates ang One Bohol…
In his answers, Bomediano said that back in Oct. 7, 2022, a day after Marcos Jr. filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for president, he, together with other BBM supporters, formed the Basta Bol-anon Marcos (BBM) movement.
He added that he was aware that other like-minded organizations supporting Marcos Jr. are existing around the province, with each group minding its own business.
At that time, there was no plan to form an alliance among the different pro-BBM groups in Bohol, Bomediano revealed.
It was not until the start of the national campaign when some BBM-Sara groups sent feelers to meet one another in order to help in the campaign movement of the Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio camp in Bohol, Bomediano said.
Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) Secretary General Thompson Lantion was the one who suggested that the different groups in Bohol should unite into a single entity, Bomediano added.
Moreover, Bomediano, during the interview said the issue that the groups included in the alliance sprouted only lately upon learning that Marcos Jr. is the front runner based on various surveys, is untrue. He said this is FAKE INFORMATION.
“Na naa mi daan since Oct. 7, the day after BBM filed his certificate of candidacy. Wa pa mi kahibaw kinsay iyahang [BBM] bise presidente. At that time [nga nagfile sa iyang candidacy si BBM], ang nag lead sa survey for president mao si Sara Duterte,” Bomediano said.
He said that he formed his group a day after Marcos Jr. filed his CoC on Oct. 6, 2022.
Bomediano gathered like-minded people and formed the Basta Bol-anon Marcos (BBM) movement sans a vice presidential candidate. He was also aware that there are other pro-BBM groups existing but unincorporated into a single organization.
Furthermore, at that time, Bomediano said, they
(Bomediano and his people), were already bent on supporting Marcos Jr. for his bid for presidency, regardless of his standing in the surveys.
“Dili pwede ingnon nga mao pay pag turok namo karong panahuna nga nikusog na [si BBM]. That is very unfair. Dili na maayong istorya,” Bomediano stressed.
He mentioned that they have been supporting Marcos Jr. even at the time he was trailing in the surveys where Duterte-Carpio was the frontrunner for the presidential post.
Such insinuation that the pro-Marcos Jr. groups here in Bohol only surfaced lately is an insult to the members of the alliance, Bomediano revealed.
THE EVENT AT THE OLD AIRPORT
Duterte-Carpio sent a video message to One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance thanking the group of the event held; and the aforementioned video got circulated on social media.
“Maraming salamat po sa aming mga kaibigan sa One Bohol Solid BBMSARA Grand Alliance, sa inyo pong pagbukas ng headquarters. Maraming salamat din po sa pagmamahal at suporta ninyo sa Bongbong-Sara tandem. Mabuhay po kayo, mahalin natin ang Pilipinas, salamat,” Duterte-Carpio said in her recorded statement on video addressed to One Bohol BBM-SARA alliance.
The video was an indication that the camp of Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio acknowledges the activities backed by the said alliance of BBMSARA forces in Bohol led by Bomediano.
The One Bohol BBMSARA alliance is composed of not less than 22 different organizations backing the candidacies of Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio, Bomediano stressed. The alliance has 100,000 members in its fold.
Bomediano thanked the throng of people who attended the kickoff activity gathering at the old Tagbilaran airport.
Prior to the activity, there was a blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony of the One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance headquarters located at the Liteport Center. This was followed by a motorcade.
“Niining adlawa, Pebrero 19, 2022, ako ug ang tanang opisyales sa One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance pormal nga gipapanumpa ni [Partido Federal ng Pilipinas] PFP Regional President, Hon. Carlitos Ceniza, isip Provincial Chairman sa ONE BOHOL BBMSARA GRAND ALLIANCE didto sa Tagbilaran Old Airport atol sa gihimong KickOff Campaign sa One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance sinaksihan sa liboan ka mga loyalista ni BBM ug SARA. Daghang salamat sa inyong pagsalig,” Bomediano said in a Facebook post.
NO ONE SAID BBM-SARA ARE VISITING BOHOL
Bomediano said that his group made it clear that Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio were not attending the kickoff activity, days prior to the holding of the event on Feb. 19, 2022.
“Ang One Bohol wala mag propaganda ug wala mupakatap sa balita nga muanha [sa kickoff activity] si BBM-Sara,” Bomediano told Albarado during the radio interview.
NO LOCAL POLITICS FOR THE ALLIANCE
Bomediano reiterated that his group will not dabble on local politics. He said that the alliance will focus mainly in the campaign of Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio.
The PFP has not indicated any support for any local candidate in Bohol as of this writing. The One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance will not get involved in local politics even if the PFP will create alliances with local politicians in the future, Bomediano explained.
However, he confirmed that there were supporters of a local candidate who were present in the One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance rally at the Old Tagbilaran Airport and distributed caps to BBM-Sara supporters in attendance.
“Nahimo bitaw nga kontrobersya sa grupo sa One Bohol kay ang uban ning allege man nga dihay mga politiko nga ni-encroach . . . ingon ana . . . something like that. Naay gipanghatag nga kalo. Tinood diay nga niabot ang mga kalo. Apan, kami,personally nga mga members sa One Bohol BBMSARA board, wala mi kalibutan nga naa kadto. Paghuman na mi nakahibalo nga diha diay tong mga kalo nga gipanghatag sa usa ka pulitiko. Unya ang mga tawo
pud, nga natunulan ato [sa mga kalo], midawat na lang kay gauwan man gud. Ila na lang gipahimuslan pud nga magamit nila [ang mga kalo] kay gaulan lagi,” Bomediano narrated during the interview.
Furthermore, Bomediano asks the local politicians to stage their activities elsewhere and not during the alliance’s gatherings.
ALLIANCE LINKS WITH PFP
The PFP is the political party of Marcos Jr.
Bomediano said that [for the Feb. 19, 2022 event], his group transacted solely with the PFP. They had no interaction with Duterte-Carpio’s Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).
Bomediano said he and his group did not bother to get in touch with the Lakas-CMD and the HNP
as they automatically support Duterte-Carpio being Marcos Jr.’s running mate.
The PFP has adopted Duterte-Carpio as its vice presidential bet even if she is running under Lakas-CMD, according to reports.
Bomediano added that One Bohol BBMSARA Alliance’s event on Feb. 19, 2022 was attended by the party’s regional chairman Carlitos Ceniza and PFP provincial chairman Jessie Paluga. The attendance of party leaders shows that the alliance is recognized by the PFP, Bomediano said.