MANILA, Philippines – Seven hundred thirty-eight municipal mayors on Wednesday signed a manifesto pledging their support for the presidential bid of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., describing him as “the best man from among all the presidential candidates to lead our country in the coming years,” a statement from his office said.

“We categorically declare our unequivocal support to the presidential candidacy of Secretary Gilberto ‘Gibo’ C. Teodoro Jr. and call on all our countrymen to elect him and to work for his campaign as we hereby, commit ourselves to do so and ensure his victory in the May 10, 2010 election,” the manifesto, issued on the last day of the general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel, said. 

The mayors’ endorsement followed that of 49 governors during the assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines   

The mayors enumerated three “Herculean” tasks the next president is expected to contend with: the “reengineering and strengthening of the fundamental social, political and economic institutions which have been seriously eroded through the years;” a comprehensive government response to the “menace of climate change and environmental degradation that imperil the country and the world;” and the “war against secessionists and terrorists in Mindanao.”