Cojuangco endorses Binay, Roxas runs to Espino?

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

With gubernatorial aspirant Mark Cojuangco endorsing presidential wannabe Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party, does it mean the latter perceived rival Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior & Local Government gravitates to Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. so he improves his political stocks?

Department of Interior & Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas: Facing a
very poor showing on polls for his presidential bid.

But Espino was the bête noire  of Roxas in the acrimonious and ugly 2013 gubernatorial polls where Roxas protégée and Espino’s gubernatorial rival Nani Braganza threw everything including the proverbial kitchen sink and the aparador to the governor?

“Iyan nga ang problema, tahimik na si Nani na ginagawa ang mga utos ni Mar sa ibat ibang panig ng bansa at mundo, tapos pababalikin niyo dito sa Pangasinan para tulungan sila Governor Espino,” a political kibitzer who is close to Braganza told me.
Although Espino is an exiting governor of the 3 million populated province, his son and namesake Board Member Amado III has moist eye for the top post of Pangasinan.

But another political pundit said: “Politics is the art of the impossible, and in politics there’s an axiom there are no permanent friends but permanent interest. That’s the irony”.

Although we are not certain that Roxas, with his pathetic showing of 4% (tied with Senator Chiz Escudero) at the March Pulse Asia’s poll, will run for the presidency, it could be either Senator Grace Poe (14% from Pulse), Davao City Mayor Rod Duterte (12% from Pulse), or Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada (12% from Pulse) who would court Espino as either one of them could not get the support of Cojuangco and the majority of the mayors in the 47 cities and towns Pangasinan who back Cojuangco.

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Does Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan Mayor Emmanuel Cabanganon lack political savvy? I heard from my unimpeachable informant that his brother –in-law former Mayor Rey Velasco eggs him to throw his hat in the 2016 mayoralty derby against incumbent Mayor Lito Zaplan.

“Paano niya lalabanan si Lito e daang milyon ang pera niyan na kinikita sa construction business niya?” I posed.

My source told me that the former hizzoner and former three stars police general does not want to see Zaplan running for the mayoralty without an opponent.

My source said Vice Mayor Cabangon wastes his opportunity. He was told by Mayor Zaplan in case he remains as the veem he would run unopposed as former Zaplan vice mayor and former vice mayor Rey Santos is already contented in his post as a department head.

“Ang problema pa diyan pag natalo siya sa 2016, kahit pagiging vice mayor sa 2019 mahihirapan na siya because he would be not be ubiquitous in the perch of power for the next three years,” I opined.

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