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Palace denies Vince Dizon has joined Isko Moreno's campaign team

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vince Dizon, Oct. 24, 2018. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/03/11/20180919-bcda-vince-dizon-2363-md.jpg"/><figcaption>Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vince Dizon, Oct. 24, 2018. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE) —Malacañang on Thursday denied claims that COVID-19 testing czar Vince Dizon had joined the campaign team of presidential aspirant Manila Mayor Francisco &quot;Isko Moreno&quot; Domagoso.&quot;There is no truth to the reports circulating that Secretary Vivencio &#x27;Vince&#x27; Dizon allegedly joined the campaign team of a presidential aspirant,&quot; Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement.He said Dizon remained a Cabinet member of President Rodrigo Duterte, serving as presidential adviser for COVID-19 response.&quot;Sec. Dizon is focused on the vaccination efforts of government, and not with any political campaign,&quot; added Nograles, also acting presidential spokesperson.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/17/21/vince-dizon-joins-isko-morenos-2022-campaign-team">Isko Moreno&#x27;s camp says Vince Dizon part of Manila Mayor’s 2022 campaign team</a></li></ul><div> </div>On Oct. 15, Dizon stepped down from his post as president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. He is still involved in the government&#x27;s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.But Lito Banayo, Domagoso&#x27;s chief campaign strategist, stood by his earlier statement that Dizon was part of their camp.For now, the former BCDA chief wants to finish his work in the government&#x27;s vaccination drive, he said.&quot;There&#x27;s no backtracking of that commitment. It&#x27;s just that there are certain efforts that have to be finished in so far as the vaccination drive is concern. He wants to finish that task first,&quot; Banayo told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Dateline Philippines&quot;.Being a &quot;personal friend,&quot; he said he asked Dizon to help run Domagoso&#x27;s presidential campaign.Banayo said they had sought advice from Dizon on a lot of matters &quot;especially on surveys, on research design, on focus group discussions.&quot;&quot;Having met Mayor Isko and knowing Mayor Isko&#x27;s program of government, his advocacies, he signed up with us,&quot; he said.&quot;But &#x27;yun na nga because of his efforts, which are very important in the vaccination drive, we understand his predicament at this particular point in time.&quot;<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1834077" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/17/21/vince-dizon-joins-isko-morenos-2022-campaign-team">Isko Moreno&#x27;s camp says Vince Dizon part of Manila Mayor’s 2022 campaign team</a></li></ul>It was Banayo who disclosed on Wednesday that Dizon joined their campaign team.“He is Deputy Campaign Manager and Head of Statistical Research,” he told ABS-CBN News.A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity had said that Dizon had been connecting Domagoso to potential political supporters as early as February 2021.“He has been hosting the Manila Mayor’s meetings in Pampanga even before the filing of candidacies,” the source said.“Dizon even connected Isko to an advertising agency that came up with the ‘Ako Si Isko’ campaign.”The source said Dizon “only works on the sidelines and behind the scenes&quot; because Palace officials did not allow him to resign from his post as testing czar and deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.“He was allowed to step down from his duties in the BCDA. But he was asked not to leave the administration’s pandemic response panel,” the source said.

Malacañang has denied claims that former BCDA president Vince Dizon has joined the campaign team of presidential aspirant Isko Moreno.