Gov. Suarez and Rep. Tan are reportedly not seeing eye to eye since the latter declared her intentions to challenge the incumbent governor in next year’s elections.
They were seemingly avoiding each other since Tan has all but declared last year her intent to run for gubernatorial post in next year’s scheduled general elections.
LUCENA CITY – IT CONVEYS heavy political implication and speculations when two well-known political personalities in Quezon province, and reportedly would-be political adversaries in the gubernatorial elections next year have accidentally crossed paths.
The incident happened at the vaccination rollout against the dreaded Covid-19 at a public hospital of the province’ 4th District last Friday.
Gov. Danilo Suarez and 4th District Rep. Angelina ‘Helen’ Tan unexpectedly bumped into each other when they both attended the vaccination rollout at Magsaysay Memorial Hospital in Lopez town in the 4th congressional district which Tan represents.
It was the first time that Suarez and Tan have apparently met since their time as congressional colleagues.
They were seemingly avoiding each other since Tan has all but declared last year her intent to run for gubernatorial post in next year’s scheduled general elections.
A photo of Suarez and Tan standing side by side and both looking at the camera circulated in the social media and generated numerous comments and speculations.
The event was attended by Dept. of Health Calabarzon Assistant Regional Director Dr. Paula Paz- Sydionco, Dr. Juvy Paz Purino and Lopez mayor Rachel Ubana.
Tan also went to the vaccination rollout in Maria Eleazar General Hospital in Tagkawayan town but not Gov. Suarez who was represented by his daughter, Atty. Joanna.
Tagkawayan Mayor Carlo Eleazar and other town officials attended the event which saw some 70 medical frontliners of the hospital were vaccinated with Chinese-made Sinovac anti-Covid-19 vaccine.
Tan, a medical professional, was the one who even injected Dr. Reynaldo Florido, the hospital chief.
On Thursday last week, Gov. Suarez attended the first vaccine rollout in the province when some 200 medical workers at the Quezon Medical Center were the first to have been vaccinated.
Other provincial government officials led by Vice Governor Sam Nantes and board members Alona Obispo and Yna Liwanag, Dept. of Health Region 4A Director Eduardo Janairo, QMC chief of hospital Dr. Rolando Padre, among others, witnessed the historic event.
Tan herself was the very first who got the vaccine jab among her colleagues at the House of Representatives, when she was inoculated at the Veteran’s Memorial Medical Center, just two days after the first 600,000 Sinovac vaccine doses donated by China landed in the country over two weeks ago.
Her vaccination caught the attention of vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. who reminded her that it violated IATF vaccine protocols which mandate that the medical frontliners get the priority vaccine before all the others sectors.
When he learned that Tan is a medical professional he immediately apologized to the latter.
Suarez’ son, former governor and now the province’s 2nd District Rep. David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez whom he succeeded in the provincial capitol, has been charged with three graft and corruption cases at the Ombudsman which he reportedly committed when he was the governor from 2010 to 2019.
Tan was also the subject of a lawsuit alleging her private hospital’s involvement in Philhealth mess and another about her husband’s allegedly throwing in midair ‘some 2 to 3 millions’ of cash while municipal and barangay officials scrambled to catch them at a party in 2019 at Tan’s residence in Gumaca town in the 4th district.
The Suarez and Tan political camps have suspected and traded accusations that the lawsuits were all politically motivated intended to strengthen or harm their political chances in next year’s elections.
Early last month in a privilege speech in Congress, Tan has exposed Presidential Legislative Liaison Officer (PLLO) Jacinto Paras for launching a Tiktok video and drone flight shot allegedly to malign and destroy her character and reputation and that of her husband, Dept. of Public Works and Highways Region 1 Director Ronel Tan.
Tan hinted that one of her political foes in the province could have been behind Paras’ move against them.
The Tiktok video bears the caption “Exclusive: DOJ urged to probe Cong. Helen Tan’s hospital for graft” and “Corrupt Officials” written at the top and the drone flight shot was allegedly made over the Tan’s residence in Gumaca town.
Suarez had supported Paras when Pres. Duterte reassigned the latter from his post in the Department of Labor and Employment to PLLO as the governor claimed Paras is his long-time friend. (JAB)