Four days after he filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has gained the support of at least 45 governors nationwide including governor Jose Riano.
In joint statement on Tuesday, the governors hailed Go’s “wide and valuable” insights on both local and national governance, as well as his offered solutions for pressing issues in the country.
“We, provincial governors, crossing party lines, support the candidacy for vice president of Sen. Bong Go and vow to campaign tirelessly for his election to the country’s second highest elective position,” the statement read.
The provincial governors said Go, from being President Rodrigo Duterte’s long-time aide to being a senator, is ready to take on the challenge as the second highest official in the country if the lawmaker wins in the next year’s elections.
“Such experience has prepared him adequately for elective public office – as senator and hopefully as vice president. Having come from the ranks of local public servants, we have no doubt that Bong Go understands the issues we face 24/7 in our respective provinces,” they said.
They believed that Go, if elected vice president, would continue Duterte’s programs, including the relentless efforts to fight illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.
“These are some of the problems we continue to face as local officials, despite the administration’s gains in stamping out such nefarious activities,” the governors said.
They also expressed confidence that Go would ensure that the country’s economic development would further improve and more job opportunities would be offered to Filipinos through the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
They likewise noted that with only over two years of being a senator, Go has been able to institutionalize the Malasakit Center, a project he and Duterte started before the former presidential aide joined the Senate, by being a principal author of Republic Act 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019.
They lauded Go for making affordable healthcare accessible to Filipinos through the Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop for medical and financial assistance for the sick.
“There are now at least 138 Malasakit Centers in public hospitals throughout the country. These centers serve hundreds of sick poor Filipinos every day,” the governors said.
Go, who was initially proclaimed as the presidential candidate of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, filed on Oct. 2 his COC for vice president, a position originally offered to Duterte who announced his plan to retire from public service after his term ends in June 2022. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos/PNA)
