Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan has resigned as party chairman and member of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) on May 31, 2024.
He resigned as party chairman of Lapu-Lapu City PDP.
Chan is the third chief executive in Cebu to have tendered resignation from PDP.
Chan said, in his post, that the act is done in the name of unity of local government units (LGUs) in Cebu.
“Sa ngalan sa panaghiusa, gusto nako ipahibalo sa tanan nga opisyal na kita nga mibiya sa atong katungdanan isip chairman ug membro sa PDP. Usa kini ka dako ug lisud nga desisyon apan ato kini nabuhat tungod sa atong dakong gugma sa pagpangalagad ug pagpadayon sa panaghiusa sa mga lider sa tibuok Probinsya sa Sugbo,” Chan stated.
In a letter to Jose Alvarez, president of PDP, he said that his resignation is a difficult decision but works in the best interest of Lapu-Lapu City.
“I have made this difficult decision because I believe it is in the best interests of Lapu-Lapu City to maintain unity with the tri-cities and the Province of Cebu. Although Lapu-Lapu City is a highly urbanized city, we are inter-dependent and inter-connected as One Cebu Island; thus, I firmly believe that we must work harmoniously and strengthen our relationship with our local government units,” he emphasized.
LGUs in Cebu are affiliated mostly with One Cebu, the political party of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
CEBU GOVERNOR RESIGNS
Earlier, Garcia resigned as member of PDP.
On May 28, 2024, in a letter to Alvarez, Garcia mentioned that "recent events have made it clear that her continued membership is no longer tenable."
She mentioned of a complaint filed against her by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
“Specifically, the complaint filed against me by Mayor Michael Rama, Vice President for the Visayas, with the Office of the President, has created an irreconcilable conflict.”
The complaint filed by Rama stemmed from Garcia’s memorandum on stopping the construction of ultra-modern bus stations for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project along Osmeña Boulevard that marred allegedly the vista of the Cebu Provincial Capitol, a heritage structure declared as a National Historical Landmark.
Mayor Rama has reacted to the resignation by lambasting the governor in a post.
"True or what, I heard that it was a day after Malacañang ordered her to submit an Answer to the Administrative Complaint regarding her interference in the Affairs of Cebu City, she had the temerity of resigning as a member of PDP but not without using my name in vain. Her loyalty to PDP (I doubt if she had) was long gone even before our recent conflict and that is public knowledge. That resignation letter was simply not truthful," part of Rama's post read on May 29, 2024 read.
MANDAUE CITY MAYOR RESIGNS
A day after Garcia expressed her resignation, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes followed suit, saying that the "decision stems from his own desire to continue the unity he forged under Garcia and maintain Mandaue City under the banner of One Cebu."
Mandaue City is a highly urbanized city, but is still under the political jurisdiction of the Cebu Provincial Government led by Garcia.
PDP is the political party of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
