There is no shade of truth that Rep. Greg Gasataya was rejected or driven out of Grupo Progreso, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said in a press release Wednesday, March 23, in reaction to the solon’s claim during a DYHB-organized debate that he did not leave GP but was actually ousted from the group.
It is now clear to GP supporters and the people of Bacolod, Leonardia reiterated, that if the congressman found himself in the company of the rival camp, it was because of his own making.
“He was the one who ousted himself from Grupo Progreso, not us,” the mayor said
For months in the run-up to the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy in October and many weeks after the COC filing, he was claiming neutrality but his actions and pronouncements on the ground showed otherwise, the press release said.
“His declaration of neutrality was a sham,” Leonardia said.
At the Debate Serye for congressional candidates of station DYHB Radio Mindanao Network, Gasataya’s rival, businessman Daniel Alfonso “Aksyon Dan” Atayde, tossed the question to the former in the “Pamangkot Mo, Sabton Ko” segment whether he left GP (on his own volition) or he was ousted by the group, the press release said.
Answering in the dialect, Gasataya said: “Klaro na nga gin sikway ako kag gin pahalin” (It is clear that I was rejected and eventually ousted)”, it added.
Gasataya further claimed that Atayde was already his replacement in waiting.*