CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Pampanga electorate, if not the automated polls, made sure there won’t be any doubt on the real governor this time with Lakas-CMD-Kampi gubernatorial bet Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda defeating sitting Gov. Eddie Panlilio of the Liberal Party by a margin of over 220,000 votes.
As of press time, Pineda already has 460,092 votes while Panlilio got 227,962 based on the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas’ (KBP) unofficial count yesterday. This came from at least 1,508 out of 1,606 clustered precincts in the province, or 93.9 percent of the total votes cast.
“Wala nang himala pang mangyayari,” said a supporter of Pineda.
With her victory, the former Lubao mayor and former senior board member enters the records as the first elected woman governor of Pampanga. Gov. Juanita L. Nepomuceno, matriarch of the powerful political clan, served as an appointed governor in 1976.
Pineda has vowed to prioritize quality health care for her cabalens saying she will build a dialysis center and a hospital equipped with state of the art medical equipment.
Meanwhile, independent gubernatorial candidate Ricardo Ocampo Sr. placed third in the gubernatorial race with 8,944 votes.
Tarzan trounces upstart
In Pampanga’s first district, Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin received another fresh mandate after handily beating the fight out of Angeles City three-termer councilor Ares Yabut by 115,948 votes.
Lazatin, who garnered 150,740 votes from Angeles, Mabalacat and Magalang towns, has earlier predicted that he will win by landslide against Yabut who got 35,792. Luisito “Chito” Bacani, an independent congressional bet, got 3,366 votes.
Oca devours Tiger
In the City of San Fernando, incumbent Mayor Oscar “Oca” Rodriguez held Eligio “Tiger” Lagman by the tail with 49,257 votes to the latter’s 15,052.
Rodriguez cited his accomplishments under the Performance Governance System which won for the city international and national awards as the key to his victory.
“Gumawa tayo ng isang sistema na kahit sinong luku-lukong mauupo pagkatapos ko ay hindi siya makakapangurakot,” he said.
Before the filing of the candidacies last year, civil society groups and other religious sects tried to convince him to run for governor saying he was the right man to run the affairs of the Capitol, but he refused.
Patsies for GMA
As expected, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s avalanche of 158,617 votes reduced to patsies her opponents: the Liberal Party’s Adonis F. Simpao with a measly19,516 votes, Filipinas Sampang with 6,654, and Feliciano Serrano with 3,389.
Dong undisputed
Lakas-CMD-Kampi Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales of the third district made mincemeat of the challenge of businessman Jose “Pol” Quiwa with 184,270 votes to the latter’s 22,983.
EdPam makes Nepo bluer than blue
In Angeles City, former Cabinet Secretary Edgardo D. Pamintuan was proclaimed mayor on Tuesday, winning by 26,179 votes against incumbent mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno.
