This was disclosed by PDP-Laban Central Luzon president Tito M. Mendiola who is a former Floridablanca barangay captain, mayor and PhilHealth senior vice president during the weekly Balitaan media forum organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. and Social Security System at the Bale Balita here last Friday.
“But I am not the one making the fi nal decision. It is still up to the national party leadership,” he said, but assuring that PDP-Laban will defi nitely fi eld a gubernatorial bet in Pampanga.
He said Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has also appointed Bondoc as PDP-Laban president for “political side” in Pampanga.
Mendiola said Bondoc is willing to run for governor. But if 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagl-Arroyo will run, he said he will not run anymore, Mendiola added.
Nanay for VG
He said it is now becoming apparent that Vice Gov. Dennis “Delta” G. Pineda will run for governor and his mother Gov. Lilia G. Pineda will be his running mate.
“Because it seems that they realized that the vice governor has no chance against Bondoc one-onone,” Mendiola said.
“If you look at the last elections, many of the candidates of Kambilan (dominant local party in Pampanga) lost, around six or seven mayors,” he said.
Bondoc’s running mate will be Bacolor Mayor Jomar O. Hizon. But lately, Mendiola said, Hizon’s father Angelo Jr. had advised his mayor son to run for governor instead because they will also spend just the same.
“Nung tatagal kang vice governor o’t e ka pa tagal governor magastus tamu rin (If you are running to vice governor why don’t you run for governor, we will just money just the same),” Mendiola quoted the Hizon patriarch as telling his son.
In case they both wanted to run, “we will talk to them but will favor Bondoc,” he said.
Bondoc’s sister, former congresswoman Dr. Ana York Bondoc-Sagum, will return to Congress, he said. But Board Member Ric Yabut also wants to run for congress under PDP-Laban, he added. In Mabalacat City, Mendiola said, he got a text last week from Mayor Cris Garbo who has signifi ed his intention to join the party but only wants to take his oath before Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
In Magalang, Mayor Malu Lacson is a party member as well as Mayor Darwin Manalansan in Floridablanca, Mayor Danilo Guinto in Masantol and Mayor Bon Alejandrino in Arayat, he said. In Porac, four village chiefs are now party members, he said, including Councilor Rey Lapid but he has no plans to run for mayor, he said.
In Guagua, Mayor Dante Torres has been with the party since 2013, he said. In the City of San Fernando, Mayor Edwin Santiago is still mulling to join the party, he said. In Sasmuan, it’s Catalina C. Bagasina but she is weak in the surveys, disclosed Mendiola.
“Apalit is a problem because the old PDP-Laban is Boy Tetangco whom we support but his opponent is his nephew, former mayor Jun Tetangco,” he said. In Angeles City, we only have one PDP-Laban, Councilor Joseph “PG” Ponce, he said.
Yeng, Mikey In the first district of Pampanga, former congressman Yeng Guiao will run for Congress under the PDP-Laban while former congressman Mikey Arroyo will run in the second district, he said.
In Zambales, it could be a three-way fi ght for the governorship between incumbent Gov. Amor Deloso, former governor Hermogenes Ebdane and 1st District Rep. Jeffrey Khonghun.
Meanwhile, Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales was appointed by Alvarez as the party’s Region 3 president for political side, said Mendiola while Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman, a transgender, is president for her province, he said.
Mendiola said PDP-Laban in Central Luzon has 11,000 members “but these are hardcore party members.”
In Pampanga the party has some 2,000 members but some are associate members because they have not undergone basic membership seminar (BMS), he said.
“We are now preparing a political map of Central Luzon to know more about its dynamics,” he said.
“We want to know how strong we are especially in the districts. We want to know who are the leading candidates or weak candidates, analyzing the personalities and their winnability.”
Mendiola said PDP-Laban has only until Nov. 30 to recruit new members according to a directive from the national leadership because problems are starting to crop.
He said in Mindanao, “I was there a few weeks ago,” the PDP-Laban there declared Speaker Alvarez persona-non-grata.
“There is a confl ict between old PDP-Laban ideologues and the new recruits,” he said.
