By Mortz C. Ortigoza
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – “The Eagle has landed,” exiting Bayambang Billionaire - Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao quipped in his opening statement to reporters the immortal phrase of American astronaut Neil Armstrong when it landed on the moon’s Sea of Tranquility his Apollo 11 lunar module named “Eagle.
The Eagle or Aguila in the vernacular is the acronym of the Alyansang Guico at Lambino for the governorship and vice governorship races of Pangasinan province participated by 5th District Rep. Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III and Vice Gov. Mark Lambino, respectively.
Quiambao was accused by former governor Amado T. Espino, Jr – his high school classmate - to be behind the massive cheating that saw his son and namesake the governor of the province lost in the May 9 election.POWERFUL POLITICIAN and Bayambang Mayor Cezar T. Quiambo (left, photo and clockwise), Pangasinan new Governor –Elect Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III, and exiting Pangasinan Governor Amado “Pogi” Espino, III. Guico trounces out Espino with a 187, 801 lead votes in the latest governorship derby. The former and the latter garnered 885,272 votes, 697, 465 votes, respectively. Espino’s father and namesake the former governor of the colossal province accused Quiambao of massive machination that saw his governor and congressman’s sons routed in the polls by their rivals.
“The issue on me I think is wrong. This a joint team effort. The real changer here is Congressman Mark Cojuangco. He lost as a candidate for governor, moved to the 2nd District. That’s the game changer. Without the sacrifice of Cong. Mark I don’t think we have a strong team,” Quiambao retorted to the query of this writer on the election machination that favors Guico and Cojuangco.
“Mula ng maging Mayor si Mr. Quiambao hindi na nanalo si Pogi. Dati si Ric (former Bayambang Mayor who ran the town’s top post) sa kanya mismong barangay,” he told reporters in a press conference he called at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center here in May 10 with the Abante Pangasinan Ilokano (API) Secretary General Nelson V. Gayo and some Pangasinan mayoralty candidates who were trounced out in the polls like Bryan Gotoc and Joseph Arman Bauzon.
In a press briefing to answer the accusations of Espino held on May 11 at the residence of Cojuangco in North Bay School, Maramba Blvd., Libsong West here, Quiambao – accompanied by Guico, Cojuangco, 1st District Representative-Elect Art Celeste, Abono Partylist Congressman Eskimo Estrella, and Guico’s father and namesake the 5th District Congressman-elect – cited the factors how Espino’s governor and 2nd District Congressman sons lose the election.
He mentioned the unity of the members of the Aguila who were seated with him at the press conference and the persistence of Celeste to convince Cojuangco to transfer his residency in the 2nd District - the Lion’s Den of the Espinos where the former governor and the present solon reside – where Quiambao considered it a vacuum with their power play with the sitting political family.
It has more or less 315,000 registered voters (2022 data) that could prejudice the victory of Guico among the almost two million registered voters of the entire province in case they could not find an effective opponent to challenge Congressman Jumel Anthony Espino there.
Guico and reelectionist Pogi Espino garnered 885,272 votes, 697, 465 votes, respectively or a lead votes of 187, 801 in favor of Guico.
Cojuangco beat Jumel Espino with a lead votes of 14, 584 votes.
“First District we are strong. Our weakest point is the 2nd District. We’re strong (in the) 4th District, I think we’re strong in the 3rd District, 5th District we’ve the strongest support there, 6th District we have the Abono. Look at the composition of the group. It’s really a united effort well- organized, well- studied, well- strategize”.
The third factor was the quality of the candidates Aguila fielded in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th Districts and the collaboration of the bets to buttress the political stocks of Aguila in the 6th District through the Abono Party List of exiting Rep. Conrad Estrella.
“The most important factor: The quality of the candidates. There was no single issue that were raised against the candidates especially Governor Monmon Guico”.
The fifth factor, according to Quiambao, was their resources like the use of helicopters where each of them – him, Cojuangco, and Guico - owned to hopscotch (especially for Guico) from up to four villages a day since they start barnstorming the barangays in September last year.
“We’re able to go around para sa (more than) 1,200 barangays. That makes the difference naka-helicopter kaming lahat”.
He said this technology bode them well to their march to victory.
“Very clear we did not apply technology to cheat. We look at the system. The system is 99% accurate that is the standard of the automative election,” as his rebuttal to the cheating yarn of the older Espino.
He cited the defeat of the opponents as the Espinos’ Fatigue where the patriarch and his sons governed the forty-four towns and three cities’ province for almost twenty years without significant improvement to the lives of the people.
“Siguro the fourth factor is Espinos’ Fatigue. Pagod na rin siguro ang mga tao. 15 years’ service hindi satisfied iyong tao”.
Except the vice governor and the Abono Party List’s nominee No. 1 Estrella, Quiambao told the public that the same individuals seated with him were the original members who shored up and catapulted Espino, Jr. to Congress in the 2005 election and the governorship in the 2007 poll.
“These are people who make him governor who made him congressman. All of us. So we can make a governor, we can also make a downfall of the governor”.
Cong.-Elect Celeste butted in that if massive cheating had been perpetrated by their camp then his two brothers' former Congressman Jesus 'Boying" Celeste, exiting Congressman Noli Celeste, and Mangaldan Mayor Marilyn Lambino would not lose in the mayorship contests in the towns of Sual, Agno, and Mangaldan, respectively. The defeated candidates are members of Aguila.
The other factor this newspaper saw that caused the routing of the Espinos in the May 9 derby was the five expensive fifteen and thirty seconds’ political advertisement shown daily at the regional afternoon news of GMA-7 two months before the election. Governor Espino’s public relation guys could only show pathetically three infomercials two weeks before the election.
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