San Juan City mayoral candidate Francis Zamora has extended an olive branch to a one-time ally turned bitter political rival, incumbent Mayor Guia Gomez.
Zamora, Gomez鈥檚 vice mayor for six years before they both sought the city鈥檚 highest post in 2016, told the Inquirer on Wednesday that he was done fighting.
鈥淚 would like to inform her that what鈥檚 done is done. For me, it鈥檚 over,鈥� he said, calling their high-profile split a 鈥渃hapter of our lives that [was] already in the past.鈥�
The gesture came less than two weeks into the campaign period for the May 13 elections, with Zamora locked in a tight race against Gomez鈥檚 personally anointed successor, Vice Mayor Janella Ejercito Estrada.
Close ties
Zamora told the Inquirer that he had a 鈥渧ery good personal and professional relationship鈥� with Gomez as her vice mayor.
鈥淲e really became so close to each other鈥攁 lot of people became jealous,鈥� said Zamora, who assumed then that Gomez would endorse him for mayor after her last term. 鈥淚t became too dangerous for other Estrada family members who had political ambitions in San Juan.鈥�
Looking back on the daily lunches he once shared with Gomez, he said it was those family members that brought them apart. But, he added: 鈥淪he is no longer my rival.鈥�
The two had a falling out in 2015 near the end of Gomez鈥檚 second term. Zamora said he had learned he would be dumped as vice mayor in favor of Estrada.聽 The move was allegedly hatched by the majority of the Estrada clan during a surreptitious meeting at the jail cell of her father, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, but Gomez denied this.
The Inquirer tried but failed to get a comment from Gomez.