By Dale G. Israel
Cebu Daily News First Posted 09:24:00 10/01/2009
Filed Under: Politics, Elections, Eleksyon 2010
Lapu-Lapu first lady Paz Radaza yesterday officially announced her intention to run for mayor in 2010.
Her husband, outgoing Mayor Arturo Radaza, is considering running for congressman now that Congress has approved the bill creating a lone congressional district for Lapu-Lapu City.
The Senate version of the bill was approved on third and final reading last Monday. The bill only needs the signature of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for it to become law.
“It is the clamor of our barangay captains for me and my husband to run. I will abide by it,” Radaza said during a press conference yesterday. “They’re the ones who want it and they have pledged their support.”
Radaza said that if she wins, her administration will continue the projects started by her husband. But she said her thrust would be more on education, health and tourism.
She said Vice Mayor Mario Amores will be her running mate. Amores earlier said he was interested in running for congressman in 2010.
But Radaza said Amores has assured that he would give way to Mayor Radaza should the latter decide to run for congressman.
The city first lady said everything was still fluid except for her plan to run for mayor.
She will be up against staunch Radaza administration critic and businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr., Interior Undersecretary Lito Ruiz, and former Radaza supporter Councilor Junard Chan.
If Mayor Radaza pushes through with his plan to run for congressman, he may be up against former Cebu governor Vicente dela Serna and former city councilor Eugene Espedido.
Radaza said she has a complete slate of candidates for the current number of seats in the City Council. But since the bill to make Lapu-Lapu a lone district will add two more seats to the council, she said she has yet to choose candidates for those seats.
She said she was considering an alliance with political clans that are friendly with the Radazas, like the Patalinjugs.
The son of former vice mayor Norma Patalinjug is likely to run under her camp, Radaza said.
She also said that the Weigels, another prominent family in Lapu-Lapu City, have not yet endorsed a candidate for the City Council.
Radaza assured that until the elections come, she remains committed to her duties in the different committees in the city government, as well as her role as the village chief of barangay Mactan.
Radaza is chairman of the City Commission on Clean and Green Programs, head of the city’s Solid Waste Management Program, and a member of the City Cultural, Heritage, and Sports Commission.
