Councilor Pamela Librado-Morata officially withdrew her candidacy as councilor of Davao City’s First District for the upcoming May 9 elections.
“Today, after careful thought and deliberation, I decided to officially withdraw my candidacy as councilor of Davao City’s First District,” she said in a statement.
Librado-Morata stated that her withdrawal paves the way for more opportunities to serve her fellow Dabawenyos through other platforms.
She said along with many people and groups whom she said are working for genuine and lasting social change, she and her family will continue to serve the public outside the City Council.
“We thank the Dabawenyos for the trust and confidence in the brand of politics that the Librado family has espoused for decades — the kind of politics which has found its mark in the pro-people legislations that we have championed. Daghang salamat sa pagsalig ug sa suporta,” it said.
Librado-Morata urged Dabawenyos to aspire and work for a peaceful and honest election.
It can be recalled that Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HTL), a Davao City-based political organization founded by then-mayor President Rodrigo Duterte, withdrew the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) of Librado-Morata on November 16, 2021 thus declaring her as an independent candidate for the upcoming local elections on May 9, 2022.
This was supported by Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte who confirmed in a statement the removal of Librado-Morata as HTL believes that her ideals are not in line with the party’s vision.
It was also during this time that Librado-Morata indicated that she would withdraw her candidacy due to disappointment.
In her statement issued on November 17, 2021, she expressed disappointment as the withdrawal was reached unilaterally, without any attempt to consult her, and neither was she allowed to defend herself against such baseless and malicious accusations.
Librado-Morata believed that her removal was decided following messages of an assessment purportedly prepared by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) identifying her as a GABRIELA personality and that she participated in the elections to support the establishment of migrant desks in Davao City’s first district purportedly used as front organizations.
Librado-Morata is a staunch supporter of the progressive groups in Davao City.
