CEBU, Philippines - Former sixth district congresswoman Nerissa Soon-Ruiz told residents of barangay Looc, Mandaue City not to be enticed by her political opponent’s money.
Soon-Ruiz, who aims to take again the congressional post she has held for years, is running against incumbent Sixth District Representative Luis Gabriel Quisumbing.
She accused Quisumbing of failing to bring services to barangay Looc. Soon- Ruiz said she is disgusted because she was the one who endorsed the candidacy of Quisumbing during the 2010 elections when she ran for Mandaue mayor.
When Quisumbing won as congressman, Soon-Ruiz claimed, he could hardly be found by his constituents and his district office also failed to cater to the needs of his constituents.
She said Quisumbing does not want to go around visiting barangays but may do so these days as the election day get nearer.
“Kun ang akong kaatbang magdala-dala og daghang sapi, ayaw mo kahaylo ana ha? Ingna nga di kwarta inyong gikinahanglan kondili serbisyo,” Soon-Ruiz said. (Tell him what you need is public service, not money.)
Repeated calls to Quisumbing were not answered last night.
Soon-Ruiz added that during her stint as congresswoman, she never refused to give any medical assistance to her constituents and was able to send many to school because of her scholarship program.
She also said that the greatest legacy she was able to provide the residents of Looc was the construction of the Looc Elementary School which took away the burden of the parents who had to bring their children to the Mandaue Central School.
Soon-Ruiz together with some candidates of the One Cebu Party led by Third District Representative Pablo John Garcia visited barangay Looc, Mandaue City yesterday morning, shook hands with people and joined a food boodle fight with them.
They were together with One Cebu’s Ramon “Boboy” Durano who is Garcia’s runningmate and former Mandaue city councilor Elmer Cabahug who is vying for a post in the Provincial Board.
As early as 7 a.m. yesterday, the group visited the different sitios of Looc and shook hands with residents wherein some also took the opportunity to express their problems.
At 10 a.m. at the Looc gym, all four aspirants asked people to vote for them. The program ended with a food boodle fight shared by the residents of the barangay. — (FREEMAN)