WITH less than a month before the May 9 elections, the candidacy of frontrunner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. received another huge boost after One Cebu (1-CEBU), the biggest political party in Cebu province on Tuesday officially endorsed his presidential bid in the upcoming national polls.

“One Cebu Party has the honor of announcing its decision to endorse the presidential bid of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr,” read a portion of the official statement signed by the One Cebu President and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia.

The party’s official announcement of support for Marcos comes after its endorsement of the vice-presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte last February 16, 2022.

The province of Cebu is the most vote-rich province in the country with more than 3.2 million registered voters for the May 9, 2022, national elections.

According to One Cebu, the party’s endorsement of Marcos underwent weeks of deliberation among its members that spanned the entire province.

“The decision follows weeks of extensive consultation and discussion with provincial, municipal and barangay leaders in the 44 municipalities and 7 cities (including Mandaue City) of the Province of Cebu,” another portion of the official statement read.

Following a battery of consultation meetings with party leaders and the constituents, the party determined that supporting the UniTeam bets would best serve the welfare of Cebuanos.

“We considered the differing opinions of party leaders advocating the causes of different presidential candidates, and have determined that the unity and strength of One Cebu, its ability to serve its constituents in the Province of Cebu, and ultimately, the interests of Cebuanos are best served if we unite behind the leadership of BBM as President, and as we have earlier announced, Mayor Sara Duterte as Vice-President,” a portion of the statement read.

The One Cebu statement also revealed that a formal ceremony to announce the endorsement will be done during the General Assembly of the party at Sky Hall, SM Seaside City in Cebu City.

Political strategists and analysts believe that with this endorsement, the BBM-Sara UniTeam has significantly increased its chances of winning in the May 9, 2022 polls.

One Cebu’s endorsement combined with his consistent top performance in all major pre-election surveys, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. is on the brink of being elected as the first majority president in a multi-party system.

According to initial and unofficial exit polls conducted during the first day of Overseas Absentee Voting, Marcos is winning via landslide in some of the most vote-rich areas outside of the country.
Prior to One Cebu’s endorsement, the UniTeam duo had also been endorsed by Barug Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (BAKUD) last January 2022.