Dr. Ferj Biron, who serves as campaign manager of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Iloilo province, has justified the removal of Jess Cordero Dimafiles from the council slate of the Nacionalista Party (NP) in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.
NP is supporting the UniTeam, an alliance between Marcos and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In a radio interview, Biron said Dimafiles as a member of NP should “not go against the choice of the party.”
“That is political common sense. Beterano naman sya nga pulitiko. He should have known the rules. If you cannot support the candidate of the party that nominated you, what business do you have to stay in the party?”
“The most decent thing to do is to resign from the party. Waay man kami ya naghambal nga mawithdraw siya sang iya kandidatura. As I’ve said libertad ya na ya kon sin-o iya kandidator provided indi sya ya madala sa amon partido.”
Demafiles decided to withdrew his candidacy for councilor of Barotac Nuevo after he was “required” to publicly declare his support for Marcos. The former Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member was eyeing a comeback.
“Gin-require ako sang aton political leadership nga mag-declare sang public support [for Marcos]. Kay ako kag ang akon pamilya, kilala nga supporters ni [presidential candidate Leni Robredo],” he said.
Biron, meanwhile, clarified that he did not force Demafiles to join his group and run under NP.
In a separate interview, Biron said he warned Dimafiles. “Siling ko, ‘make up your mind. Kon indi ka maka-upod sa pagsuporta kay BBM-Sara considering that you are part of Nacionalista, I will drop you,’”IMT
