Marcoses back another bet for Laoag City mayor, sidelines Michael Keon again

ILOCOS NORTE, Philippines – In what appears to be a repeat of the 2022 elections, the Marcos family is once again backing a different candidate for Laoag City mayor, sidelining incumbent Mayor Michael Marcos Keon, a cousin of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Senator Imee Marcos.

Speaking to reporters in Ilocos Norte’s capital city of Laoag on Friday, October 4, the President’s son, 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos said that their family had decided to back first-term city councilor and businessman Bryan Alcid.

“This goes beyond family already, this is about competence, about public service. And for me, public service is public trust, and so nakapagdesisyon ang aming pamilya na sa tingin po namin, ang pinaka-magaling at pinaka-bagay na kailangang maglingkod sa lungsod ng Laoag ay si konsehal (the family has decided that the best and most suited to serve the city of Laoag is councilor) Bryan Alcid,” Sandro said.

He said that the decision came when the Marcoses, including his father and his aunt, Senator Imee, were disappointed with his uncle Keon when the Laoag City hall requested from his office P500 million for the construction of a road in the city which leads to a shopping mall. However, Sandro said that when his office had it checked with the Department of Public Works and Highway, it was revealed that the total cost of the project was allegedly only pegged at P30 million.

“I cannot on my watch allow that to happen or allow someone not to be able to double-check and have the due diligence to be able to see the real costs of the program that has to be implemented,” the young legislator said.

Keon’s performance during his first term after he was elected in 2019  was the same reason cited by the local “Team Marcos” when they did not support Keon as their bet for Laoag mayor in 2022.

Following a recent post-typhoon Julian briefing at the Ilocos Norte Capitol, the Marcos family, led by President Marcos Jr., formally endorsed Alcid as their candidate for Laoag mayor during a ceremonial raising of hands. Keon was seen attending the same briefing.

At odds

Mayor Keon has not yet publicly announced his intention to seek reelection, but sources close to city hall indicate that he is planning to run for a third term.

In the 2022 elections, Keon ran as an independent candidate after the Marcoses endorsed another politician, former Laoag vice mayor Vicentito “Toto” Lazo. This led Keon to acknowledge that he was “walking a road of treachery.”

Despite this, the 70-year-old mayor prevailed in a tight three-way race, winning by a narrow margin of 160 votes over his closest rival, former Laoag mayor Chevylle Fariñas.

Despite being at odds with the local “Team Marcos” in 2022, Keon expressed no resentment toward his family for not supporting him.

“Despite all the obstacles and such a long journey, I was able to prevail in the end,” Keon remarked after he was proclaimed as Laoag mayor for a second term in 2022.

It was in 2019 when the Marcos family first fielded Keon to run as Laoag mayor — a position long held by another dominant political family in the province, the Fariñases. He won the 2019 election by more than a thousand votes, defeating then-incumbent Chevylle Fariñas, widow of longtime Laoag mayor Michael Fariñas, who died in a car accident in 2018.

So far, among the Marcoses, only incumbent Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, a son of Imee Marcos, and his aunt, Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, have filed their candidacies for reelection as of October 1. – Rappler.com