ANGELES CITY – Angeles City vice -mayoralty candidate and incumbent Councilor Edu Pamintuan condemns the harassment and bullying tactics perpetrated by the camp of Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin.
Based on the accounts of those present during one of the voters’ education meeting being held at the Partido Abe Kapampangan (PAK) and Team BE campaign headquarters (HQ) of Pamintuan, an unidentified man carrying a camera entered the venue and started taking photos of the activities inside.
He also harassed the people inside by attempting to grab the campaign materials being distributed, including from one elderly lady who experienced chest pain and almost collapsed during the altercation.
The timely arrival of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel from the nearby police precinct prevented the already tense situation to further escalate.
Prior to the incident, several suspicious looking men were seen lurking around the campaign headquarters, some carrying DSLR cameras and asking about the schedules and activities at the HQ.
Footages from nearby CCTV cameras also placed Pogi Lazatin at the fast-food outlet a few minutes before the infiltration. Upon his departure, several men alighted from unmarked private vehicles parked nearby and deployed themselves around the headquarters.
According to Councilor Pamintuan, “these are just manifestations that our political opponents are already in panic mode and they are engaging in using guns, goons and gold in order to harass and intimidate, not only us, the candidates, but our supporters as well.”
Numerous surveys commissioned by the Nepomuceno-Pamintuan camps, including those conducted by independent stakeholders have consistently shown the tandem of Bryan Nepo and Edu Pamintuan leading the mayoralty and vice-mayoralty race.
A few days earlier, PAK mayoralty candidate Bryan Matthew Nepomuceno called on the DILG to prevent Lazatin’s camp repeated attempts to use the PNP to harass their supporters.
