Former chief justice Davide starts campaigning for son

CEBU, Philippines - Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. is in Cebu to start campaigning for his son today. He will start his campaign with a press conference at the Ma-yi Restaurant at City Sports Club.

Davide’s son, Hilario III, is running for governor under the Liberal Party against Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Davide III’s running mate, Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, and some supporters of Liberal Party standard bearers Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and Manuel “Mar” Roxas will also attend the press conference.

Together with his wife Virginia, Davide arrived in Manila on Good Friday from New York where he was assigned as Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations.

He resigned from the post on April 2 purposely so he could campaign for his son.

The elder Davide’s presence is seen to boost his son’s campaign, as he reportedly intends to visit his former clients in different towns in the province. He also formed his own campaign team, which means he and his son will be campaigning separately to cover more ground. 

The initial plan is for the older Davide to spend the week by attending various gatherings organized by the Liberal Party in Mandaue City headed by Mayor Jonas Cortes. Aside from attending the LP gatherings, Davide will also host an early morning program over Bantay Radyo replacing Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez.

Meanwhile, the wife of Davide III, Jobella, will also campaign separately with her own team, as well as their children Patricia Janelli, Dana Giannina and Niña Francesca.

In an earlier interview with The FREEMAN, Davide III said his father could have opted to just take a leave of absence, but the latter still chose to resign out of delicadeza.

Davide Jr. held various positions in government since 1959 just after he obtained his Law degree from the University of the Philippines. He first served as private secretary to the vice-governor then to the governor of the Province of Cebu.

Among the important positions he has held was being assemblyman for Cebu in the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978. He also became one of martial law’s staunch critics and shortly after the overthrow of the Marcos regime through the “People Power” revolt in February 1986, then President Corazon Aquino convened the Constitutional Commission (CONCOM) of 1986 and appointed Davide Jr. one of the 50 Commissioners.

On February 1988, Aquino appointed Davide Jr. as Chairman of the Commission on Elections during which he sponsored the Comelec’s rules of procedure.

Ten years later, former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada appointed Davide Jr. as the 20th Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court. He would later become the presiding judge in the impeachment trial against Estrada. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO  (THE FREEMAN)