ANGELES CITY – “It’s so nice to serve the public in any capacity especially as a mayor but it’s not yet the time.”
Thus said Balibago Barangay Captain Rodelio “Tony” Mamac in the dialect as he vehemently denied reports that he wants to seek the mayoralty post here come 2010 elections against his political ally, first-term Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno.
“Mag propose lang alternative leader o third force oneng alapa keng isip ku (They are proposing an alternative leader or third force but it’s not yet on my mind). Keni naku mu Balibago at pakasanting kune pamu (“I will just stay here in Balibago and make it beautiful),” said Mamac in a text message to this reporter over the weekend.
Mamac, a long-time businessman who retired as a police officer in this city, disclosed that his co-members in the Liga ng mga Barangay had called him “mayor several times even before.”
“I am taking it as joking around between friends,” Mamac said.
“But some of the barangay captains are really asking me to run as mayor. These are those who are quite unhappy with their relationship with the top officials in the city,” he added. Mamac supported the candidacy of Cutcut Village Chief Robin Nepomuceno, elder brother of the mayor, as Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president and the latter won the post despite the controversy hounding his victory.
Mamac admitted that “it’s a difficult task to be a mayor and there are several ingredients to get the job done.”
Asked to comment about his relationship with the mayor, Mamac said, “okey ya kaku ekubalu nung okey ku kaya (He is okey with me but I don’t know if I am okey with him).
Mamac said he had invited Lazatin to the blessing and inauguration of the new barangay hall on December 8, attesting that he knows the “importance and value of having a good relationship with the officials in their area.”
Lazatin, in several speaking engagements, had endorsed Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting as “next mayor of Angeles City.” They are long-time political allies.
A source said Mamac had been seriously considering either Councilor Ricardo Zalamea or former Councilor Alex Indiongco as his running-mate should he decide to run for mayor.
