DAVAO CITY— Eight local and national political parties have allied with the homegrown Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) regional party, which was formed by Mayor Sara Duterte and the four Davao governors.
Signing the alliance agreement with HNP at the Blue Leaf Filipinas in Paranaque City on Monday, August 13, are Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Secretary-General Mark Llandro Mendoza; National Unity Party (NUP) Secretary General Reginald Velasco; Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco for the Alyansa Bol-anon Alang sa Kausaban (ABACA);
Zamboanga First District Representative Seth Frederick Jalosjos for the Aggrupation Party for Progress (APP); Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos for Ilocano Timpuyog (#IT) – Ilocos Norte Nationalista Party; Pampanga Gov Lilia Pineda for Kambilan; Misamis Oriental Gov Yevgeny Vicente Emano for Padayon Pilipino; and Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte for Serbisyo sa Bayan Party (SBP).
With the increasing number of local and national parties forging an alliance with HNP, Mayor Sara made it clear HNP is not recruiting members. She said HNP has repeatedly clarified through official statements “about recruitment to address fears that we are recruiting their (national parties) members.”
Mayor Sara reiterated that HNP is a regional political party, “thus, it is a regional party for those in the Davao region.” HNP supporters, she said, may come from different political parties though.
She said a number of politicians outside the region, who already have political affiliations, have been made to understand that once they run for public office, they can only use HNP as their party in the certificate of nomination if they are from the Davao Region.
HNP members outside the region, she said, understood that their oath-taking was merely “ceremonial.”
Last week, HNP solidified its foothold in all the region’s five provinces after a mass oath-taking for new members in Davao del Sur.
Tha mass oath-taking for new members in Davao City is slated on August 17. (Lilian Mellejor/PNA)
