There’s no stopping the combination of lawyer Augustinus “Dodong” Gonzaga and former vice mayor Jose Antonio Veloso from clinching the Liberal Party nomination in this city. The formidable tandem which has the backing of Gov. Edgar Chatto ang Cong. Rene Relampagos, two of the province’s top LP stalwarts will make its formal entry to the ruling party in a mass oath-taking officiated no less by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III at the CPG Sports Complex on Wednesday. The event is a necessary prelude to the tandem’s official nomination for mayor and vice under the ruling party. Rep. Relampagos yesterday said the pair’s bets for councilors who are already “cleared” will likewise take their oath to the LP . The district party chairman of LP reiterated his and Gov. Chatto’s “intact” support for the Gonzaga-Veloso team-up for city mayor and vice mayor. The governor is the provincial party head. The administration candidates for different elective municipal positions from mayors to vice mayors and Sangguniang Bayan members will also swear in LP allegiance in the mass induction. The major political event will coincide with the Bohol Barangay Day celebration on September 26 whose honored guest is also Pres. Aquino. Relampagos said they only recognize in the city the groups of Gonzaga-Veloso and former Mayor Jose Torralba, whose wife, Kagawad Alberta Torralba, is seeking reelection.

The lady Torralba is in the slate of Gonzaga and Veloso, whose ticket is also labelled the “Gonzaga-Veloso (GV) Express.” One report said a contending group may not fill its 10th slot for city councilor to accommodate Torralba as a “guest” candidate. But the former mayor was reported as saying that why should his wife go for the tenth spot in other’s group when she is number one in the Gonzaga-Veloso card. Gonzaga asked the mediamen to be patient because the entire final list of his line-up is known in due time. His group is not in a hurry since there is still enough time to finalize a convincing list of quality candidates for the city council. Gonzaga said they are not just considering winnability in screening their probables for councilors as he suggested that being popular does not necessarily mean competence. He assured that the Gonzaga-Veloso line-up for the city council is an “ideal mixture” of experience, record and dynamism. For obvious reason, Gonzaga and Relampagos declined in separate interviews to name the “already-cleared” Gonzaga-Veloso bets for councillors who will join in the mass swearing to LP this Wednesday. Gonzaga will his group’s formal entry to the LP during the mass oath-taking, although he has strictly already been an LP man since 2005. He warmly welcomed this early the coming of the president, whose “straight path” mantra of governance is most wanting at the incumbent city hall of Tagbilaran. Gonzaga is firm to cause positive transformations in the fronts of Tagbilaran governance where they are most needed and restore city hall to dignity.(Ven rebo Arigo)