Bohol Chronicle: Provincial board member and Liga ng mga Barangay president Concepcion Lim filed last Monday her COC substituting third district Rep. Adam Relson Jala as running mate of gubernatorial bet Rep. Edgar Chatto under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
An eleventh-hour pick as running mate of Chatto, Jala cited "personal and family reasons" for calling off his candidacy.
Lim whose family controls the leadership in Valencia town earlier surfaced as a sought after vice gubernatorial timber. Reports said NP's gubernatorial bet Vice Gov. Julius Herrera also courted Lim to be his running mate.
Lim finally made her personal choice for Chatto, and not for Herrera.
The provincial Liga president reportedly holds vast following in the third congressional district
She will be running against Prov'l Administrator Tomas Abapo, Jr, (NP); former Deped Supt. Elpidio Jala (LP) and Crescencio Alturas, independent,
YOUNG JALA'S VIEW
ON "DIRTY" POLITICS
Jala said he is dismayed over the brand of politics being practiced by local politicians.
"I am leaving politics and instead practice law, which is my profession. Politics in the province, the way I see it and as I experienced it, is very dirty," the young solon stressed.
Asked whether the "dirty politics" he is referring to is the infighting within the ranks of his own political party Lakas-Kampi CMD, Jala said, "This is not yet the time to talk about it. I assure the people to tell everything when the time comes."
Jala was just a tapped to fill-in the slot for vice governor which was apparently intended for second district Rep. Roberto Cajes.
Jala filed his letter of withdrawal at the provincial Comelec office 8:30 a.m. Monday while board member Lim followed a few minutes later with her certificate of candidacy for vice governor under the administration party.
It may be recalled that Jala was the last candidate to beat the deadline for the filing of COCs on Tuesday last week after Cajes filed his COC for mayorship in Trinidad while his wife Judith Cajes, the incumbent mayor of said town, bids for the second district congress
seat against Gov. Erico Aumentado who was stripped of the Lakas nomination at the last minute.
According to highly-placed sources within the party, Jala was just a "filler" while negotiations with board member Lim was in the works to be Chatto's running mate, as a tug-of-war ensued after Aumentado was dumped by the Lakas national directorate.
Jala "had nothing to lose" since the young solon decided early in the day to stay away from politics and even declined to run as board member under Lakas-Kampi representing the third district.
Lim was supposed to file her COC also in the last minute of the December 1 deadline but was reportedly persuaded by Aumentado against running with Chatto whom the governor blamed for his debacle.
The Chronicle source said Jala agreed to be a temporary replacement but had no real intentions of running against his uncle, former schools superintendent Elpidio Jala, who is also vying for vice governor in the Liberal Party ticket of actor Cesar Montano.
In an interview with the Chronicle yesterday, Jala admitted it was "a party decision" to field board member Lim, who received her certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) from the Lakas-Kampi national executive committee.
The third district solon said, as early as last year, he already told his father, former congressman Eladio Jala that he wants to practice law instead of seeking a second term.
The elder Jala was poised to reclaim his old House seat until the entry of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap into the fold of Lakas-Kampi, who also declared his congress bid.
Although there has been no confirmation regarding reports that the elder Jala was to be appointed by President Arroyo as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the "juicy offer" is the most likely reason why he gave way to Yap, according to sources.
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