Fariñas son loses in Ilocos Norte; ex-Angeles mayor wins village post

LAOAG CITY—The son of House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas lost his bid for village chief of Buyon in Bacarra town.

Rodolfo Christian Fariñas III, 22, the lawmaker’s youngest son, lost to Derick Velasco, 37, a former town councilor and son of slain Bacarra Mayor Philip Velasco.

Both camps figured in a rock-throwing incident during the campaign on May 12, prompting the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to send a team to pacify them.

Since then, the police and the Comelec had placed Buyon under tight monitoring. A joint team from the police and the Army was sent there.

Velasco won by 26 votes, garnering 375 votes against 349 votes of Fariñas.

Residents said they were surprised when Fariñas, who they thought was a resident of Laoag City, ran for a village position in Bacarra.

Oldest village chief

In Pampanga province, Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin, a five-time representative and first Angeles City mayor to serve three straight terms, won as village chief of Balibago.

At 83, Lazatin is the oldest among the city’s 33 village chiefs, according to lawyer Rommel Rama, Angeles election supervisor.

Lazatin got 4,294 votes while his rival, Teresa Mamac, received 3,787 votes.

The former mayor described his victory as his political comeback. In 2016, his son, Carmelo “JonJon” Lazatin II, defeated basketball coach and Pampanga Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao in the first congressional district race.

Another son, Carmelo Lazatin Jr., was reelected to the city council.

The elder Lazatin served as representative from 1987 to 2013. His late father, Rafael, served as governor and assemblyman of the province.

In Bulacan province, the widows of two slain village leaders fought for the top post at Barangay Mabalasbalas in San Rafael town.

Jennifer Vasallo, 47, wife of Jaime Vasallo, who was killed on April 1, won by 144 votes over Monaliza Rodriguez, 59, wife of Mabalasbalas Chair Rodrigo Rodriguez, who was killed on April 24.

In Laguna province, former professional basketball player Pat Codiñera lost to reelectionist village chief Maria Rosario Campos of Barangay Pacita 1 in San Pedro City.

Codiñera, a former player of Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), is the older brother of retired PBA superstar Jerry Codiñera. —Reports from Leilanie Adriano, Tonette Orejas, Carmela Reyes-Estrope and Romulo Ponte