TACLOBAN CITY- Outgoing board member Niccolo Villasin of Leyte’s second district, withdrew his congressional bid on Friday (March 22).
In a hastily called press conference after he withdrew his candidacy at the provincial office of the Commission on Elections, Villasin said that his decision was more on a ‘personal reason.’
According to Villasin, he was not pressured by anyone in withdrawing from the congressional race.
The board member, who is a lawyer by profession, said that his action stemmed from his decision to defend his sister, Tacloban city councilor Ressa Villasin, who was slapped with two counts of perjury.
Councilor Villasin, who is seeking to take the post of her brother at the provincial board, is facing perjury filed by her opponents citing discrepancy of the entry of her certificate of candidacy she filed at the provincial Comelec office.
With his decision to withdraw from the congressional post, reelectionist Rep. Henry Ong would now have to face lawyer Alberto Hidalgo and neophyte Karen Javier as his opponents.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
