Pamintuan flashes Lazatin IDs which he claimed are convertible to cash.
Photo by Bong Lacson
ANGELES CITY – An angry Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan lashed out at his rival Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin for alleged “vote-buying” during a press conference here yesterday.
Pamintuan said “vote-buying and patronage politics” must stop, even as he accused the Lazatin camp of corrupting the people.
“We will win hands down! This will be the end of vote-buying,” declared Pamintuan.
The mayor showed his proof: red magnetic cards emblazoned with “Team Lazatin” and the name and picture of the bearer on the front side while the phrases “No to corruption, yes to livelihood and yes to job opportunities” are printed on the back side.
Pamintuan said each recipient receives P300 for the card and are asked to recruit more members. “They (Lazatin camp) say no to corruption but they are the ones corrupting the people,” said Pamintuan.
“Hindi pwedeng bilhin and dignidad ng mga tao (You cannot buy the dignity of the people),” the mayor warned.
“About 80 percent of the people are poor and Lazatin is capitalizing on their vulnerability to win them over by offering them money.”
But the people will have none of it, he said, adding that some of the Lazatin cardholders have surrendered their cards to him.
Pamintuan said Lazatin’s kind of politics should not be tolerated. He said Lazatin comes out only during elections and device ways and means to buy the people. “Is this the kind of politics he will leave to the younger generations?” he asked.
“A new era of politics must emerge,” he said, where the 80 percent poor can have the chance to be elected into public office and “not just a few elite from prominent families that have long dominated us.”
