ANGELES CITY- With a former cop known for his “girlie bar” businesses as his mayoral bet, yet another Catholic priest – albeit resigned – has announced he will definitely run for vice mayor in next year’s polls in this “Sin City”.
“Yes, I will definitely run for vice mayor,” resigned priest Cris Cadiang, 48, told Punto in an exclusive interview.
Cadiang was a priest who “resigned” from his priestly duties in 2003 but whose priesthood has yet to be “dispensed” by Catholic church authorities. He said he will formally write a letter today to San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto to seek dispensation from a local tribunal.
Angeles Bishop Virgilio Pablo David confirmed that Cadiang had earlier expressed “desire to be dispensed from priesthood”, noting that “there’s a special procedure for it.”
But Cadiang said that only last Tuesday, Aniceto verbally gave his blessing to work out for his dispensation from priesthood.
Cadiang said he and his mayoral candidate, former cop Tony Mamac, now barangay chairman of this city’s commercial and tourism district in Barangay Balibago, will run under the Liberal Party (LP).
Mamac is a retired policeman who is known as the owner of Club Fairway, decribed by local menfolk as a “girlie bar”. He reportedly also owns such bars in Tarlac and Pangasinan.
“Mamac has not denied that, but that hasn’t cropped up between us yet. Our bond has been focused on governance and other issues such as poverty and garbage in the city,” said Cadiang.
Cadiang is a known composer of original Kapampangan songs in cassette discs now circulating worldwide and had worked as coordinator of the Nayong Pilipino project he had developed at the Expo Pilipino theme park at Clark Freeport.
Asked whether he is merely being used to clear up Mamac’s reputation as bar owner, Cadiang said he would be ready to confront Mamac about issues on lewd shows in bars should both of them win in the local polls.
Cadiang, who had been reputed to be among the most talented of local priests in Pampanga, said that he had worked for two years with Mamac in a program called “Teaching Art, Teaching Live” in Balibago, an area which hosts part of the so-called “red light district” that used to cater to American soldiers based at the former US Clark air force base, now Clark Freeport. Despite the departure of the US military in 1991, the district has flourished and has even become a destination for various nationalities, mostly retired men.
Angeles got its reputation as Sin City during the time of the Americans at Clark, arising from its nightclubs that catered mostly to male US soldiers. Some have estimated no less than 25,000 bar girls now working in such establishments in this city where confirmed cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome (AIDS) continue to be monitored by local health officials.
Cadiang said that in the past two years, he was impressed by Mamac’s efforts to “empower” local folk. “We went around the city and studied poverty and I did a program to address the issues,” he added.
He said that originally, he was considering running only for city councilor but that local folk had wanted continuity in the programs he had helped Mamac implement and thus they urged that he be Mamac’s vice mayoral bet.
“I consulted my spiritual director and went to visit a nun-friend in Camarines Sur for discernment. When I came back here, I was sure about my decision (to enter politics),” he said.
Cadiang said that his priestly powers were suspended after he “resigned” from priesthood in 2003. He recalled he sent Aniceto three letters of resignation before the archbishop finally allowed him to resign. Without formal dispensation from the Church’s tribunal called “court of first instance”, however, he has remained a priest, he admitted.
He also admitted that he entered into civil marriage and now has two children.
“Yes, I will definitely run for vice mayor,” resigned priest Cris Cadiang, 48, told Punto in an exclusive interview.
Cadiang was a priest who “resigned” from his priestly duties in 2003 but whose priesthood has yet to be “dispensed” by Catholic church authorities. He said he will formally write a letter today to San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto to seek dispensation from a local tribunal.
Angeles Bishop Virgilio Pablo David confirmed that Cadiang had earlier expressed “desire to be dispensed from priesthood”, noting that “there’s a special procedure for it.”
But Cadiang said that only last Tuesday, Aniceto verbally gave his blessing to work out for his dispensation from priesthood.
Cadiang said he and his mayoral candidate, former cop Tony Mamac, now barangay chairman of this city’s commercial and tourism district in Barangay Balibago, will run under the Liberal Party (LP).
Mamac is a retired policeman who is known as the owner of Club Fairway, decribed by local menfolk as a “girlie bar”. He reportedly also owns such bars in Tarlac and Pangasinan.
“Mamac has not denied that, but that hasn’t cropped up between us yet. Our bond has been focused on governance and other issues such as poverty and garbage in the city,” said Cadiang.
Cadiang is a known composer of original Kapampangan songs in cassette discs now circulating worldwide and had worked as coordinator of the Nayong Pilipino project he had developed at the Expo Pilipino theme park at Clark Freeport.
Asked whether he is merely being used to clear up Mamac’s reputation as bar owner, Cadiang said he would be ready to confront Mamac about issues on lewd shows in bars should both of them win in the local polls.
Cadiang, who had been reputed to be among the most talented of local priests in Pampanga, said that he had worked for two years with Mamac in a program called “Teaching Art, Teaching Live” in Balibago, an area which hosts part of the so-called “red light district” that used to cater to American soldiers based at the former US Clark air force base, now Clark Freeport. Despite the departure of the US military in 1991, the district has flourished and has even become a destination for various nationalities, mostly retired men.
Angeles got its reputation as Sin City during the time of the Americans at Clark, arising from its nightclubs that catered mostly to male US soldiers. Some have estimated no less than 25,000 bar girls now working in such establishments in this city where confirmed cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome (AIDS) continue to be monitored by local health officials.
Cadiang said that in the past two years, he was impressed by Mamac’s efforts to “empower” local folk. “We went around the city and studied poverty and I did a program to address the issues,” he added.
He said that originally, he was considering running only for city councilor but that local folk had wanted continuity in the programs he had helped Mamac implement and thus they urged that he be Mamac’s vice mayoral bet.
“I consulted my spiritual director and went to visit a nun-friend in Camarines Sur for discernment. When I came back here, I was sure about my decision (to enter politics),” he said.
Cadiang said that his priestly powers were suspended after he “resigned” from priesthood in 2003. He recalled he sent Aniceto three letters of resignation before the archbishop finally allowed him to resign. Without formal dispensation from the Church’s tribunal called “court of first instance”, however, he has remained a priest, he admitted.
He also admitted that he entered into civil marriage and now has two children.
