KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 5 Sept)—A major political realignment is shaping up in South Cotabato as incumbent Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. continued to firm up his political base ahead of next month’s filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 2025 local and national mid-term elections.
Koronadal Mayor Eliordo Ogena, a long-time ally of Tamayo’s former nemesis, former South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes, took his oath on Wednesday as a member of the ruling Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).
South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. Photo from the South Cotabato provincial government Facebook page
Tamayo is the national president of PFP, the party that carried President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in the 2022 elections. The President is currently the party’s chairperson.
In a statement, Tamayo welcomed the addition of Ogena to PFP and thanked the latter for the trust and uniting with their camp, which he called as the “President’s party.”
“Sa tinagal-tagal na panahon ngayon pa lamang naging maayos ang ugnayan ng pamunuan ng Lungsod ng Koronadal at ng Lalawigan ng South Cotabato (After a long time, it’s only now that we finally bridged the gap between the leadership of Koronadal City and the provincial government of South Cotabato),” the governor said.
Ogena ran and won his second term as mayor in the 2022 polls under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC)-PDP Laban slate, which was bannered by Fuentes and former South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez.
Fuentes, backed by Ogena and Hernandez, lost to Tamayo in the 2019 gubernatorial race. In the 2022 elections, Hernandez failed in his bid against Tamayo while the latter’s ally, former Koronadal Mayor Peter Miguel, defeated Fuentes in the second district congressional race.
“We hope to sustain the progress of Koronadal City through projects and programs aligned with the province,” Tamayo said.
Ogena said he decided to join forces with Tamayo, who personally came to the city mayor’s office to officiate the oathtaking, after a series of preliminary engagements with the latter’s camp.
The mayor said he consulted the matter with allies at the city council, who “analyzed, voted and eventually authorized me to do it.”
“I assume the other members of our group would also take their oaths soon,” he said.
Aside from Ogena, Tamayo’s group has picked former Fuentes ally, Surallah Vice Mayor Antonio Bendita, as congressional candidate for the province’s newly created third district.
PFP is also supporting the reelection bids of first district Rep. Isidro Limayag and Vice Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr.
Tamayo earlier said PFP will back the reelection bids of incumbent mayors Sulpicio Villalobos of Sto Niño, Clemente Fedoc of Norala, Pedro Matinong Jr. of Surallah, and Romeo Tamayo of Tupi.
It endorsed former vice mayor Grace Silva for mayor of Tboli, former councilor Kent Fungan for mayor of Lake Sebu, and the comeback bid of former mayor Honey Lumayag-Matti in Polomolok. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)
