Pangasinan pols quit Arroyo party, return to Danding Cojuangco

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Provincial and town officials, who were former Lakas-CMD members, on Monday joined the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), making it the dominant political party in this vote-rich province.

But Gov. Amado Espino Jr., who led the exodus, said their joining NPC was aimed at consolidating support for the Aquino administration.

“The NPC supported the President in the 2010 elections, and the party continues to support him until now,” he said.

Espino ran under the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) in 2010, but the NPC also endorsed him to clinch a decisive win in his reelection bid against former Gov. Victor Agbayani, a member of the ruling Liberal Party.

Among the provincial officials who joined NPC were Board Members Raul Sison, Von Mark Mendoza, Amadeo Espino, Salvador Perez Jr. and Napoleon Fontelera Jr.

Fifteen mayors and six vice mayors from the different towns and cities of the province also joined the party.

The mayors were Alfonso Celeste (Bolinao), Aldrin Cerdan (Anda), Jose Pajeta (Agno), Carlitos Reyes (Mabini), Alberto Guiang (Burgos), Ruperto Martinez (Infanta), John Rodney Arcinue (Sual), Ernesto Castañeda (Lingayen), Eduardo Ballesteros (Aguilar), Lorenzo Cerezo (Binmaley), Maximo Calimlim (Mapandan), Mark Roy Macanlalay (Calasiao), Armando Domantay (Malasiqui), Artemio Chan (Pozorrubio) and Silverio Alarcio (Laoac).

Former Pangasinan Rep. Arthur Celeste was also sworn in as party member.

NPC records showed that it now has 32 of 48 mayors, nine of 15 board members and four of six representatives in Pangasinan.

“NPC was actually my original party when I first ran. I left it temporarily when its founding chair, Ambassador [Eduardo] Danding Cojuangco Jr. became inactive,” said Espino, a former police official who started his political career in 2001, when he won as representative of the province’s second district.

Former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, the NPC representative here, welcomed Espino back to the party.

Cojuangco also denied reports that he was running in next year’s gubernatorial race, saying the reports were orchestrated by political camps opposed to Espino.

Pangasinan is a vote-rich province with 1.6 million voters, about 60 percent of the total voting population of the entire Ilocos region. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon