CHANGE OF PLAN. House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan in this undated photo. The party-list lawmaker has dropped plans to run as representative of Eastern Samar’s lone district, heeding calls of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez for unity among leaders in Eastern Visayas. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
TACLOBAN CITY – House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan has dropped plans to run as representative of Eastern Samar’s lone district, heeding calls of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez for unity among leaders in the region.
Libanan, a representative of the 4Ps Party-list, said Friday the decision is “a big sacrifice," as he has a good chance to return to Congress as a district representative.
He was Eastern Samar’s congressman from 1998 to 2007. In 2022, he was back in Congress as a representative of the 4Ps Party-list.
Libanan said he voluntarily withdrew his candidacy to achieve political stability and unity among local officials and their supporters.
He added that before his announcement, he personally informed House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of his decision.
“It seemed that Speaker Romualdez was not happy with my decision to run because he wants leaders in the region to be united. I saw his big smile when I informed him that I changed my plan for the 2025 elections,” Libanan said.
He is supposed to run against incumbent Eastern Samar Rep. Ma. Fe Abunda, a sister of talk show host Boy Abunda, who is seeking a third and final term.
In early September, Abunda publicly appealed to Libanan to let her finish her term from 2025 to 2028.
Among the conditions set by Libanan for Abunda is to ask her allies to withdraw their candidacies in local posts if they are running against an incumbent official.
Also, part of his condition is to lobby for funding of key infrastructure projects in the province.
"Our purpose in entering politics is not for ego-tripping, but our purpose of being in politics is to bring prosperity to people's lives. I am here to usher development not only for our province and the region but also for the whole country," Libanan said.
Libanan will seek reelection as 4Ps Party-list representative. (PNA)
