No kin in my governance – Bauzon

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO - “No relatives in my administration”.

This pronouncement came from this town’s incoming mayor Joseph Arman Bauzon about his style of governance where he would not hire any kin to work under his government.

FAIR-HAIRED BOY. Incoming Calasiao Mayor Joseph Arman Bauzon (2nd from left)
 posterity  poses with birthday celebrant  Eng. Alex Rosario (3rd from left) who is his
fair-haired boy to run for the village chief in the coming October election in Barangay
Macabito, Calasiao.

Politicians in the Philippines have the propensity to hire relatives whenever they win an elected office.

The 27 year-old Bauzon said he had no idea how much is the amortization of this town’s local government unit (LGU) from the tens of millions of pesos loans at the government bank.

“I will look for it upon assumption of my office”.

 He said that until now the LGU continues to pay the debt it contracted at the Land Bank of the Philippines in 2008 and 2014.

In August 2014 the administration of outgoing mayor Mark Roy Macanlalay borrowed P75 million from the LBP.

The monies were used to fund the construction or completion of this town’s  P55 million sports and commercial complex, construction of the P10 million abattoir with facilities and equipment and installation of P10 million street lights along provincial and national roads.

“I did not vote for the P75 million,”Bauzon, who was a councilor when the loan was deliberated, said.

Bauzon beat this town vice mayor Roy Macanlalay in the May 9 election by 3,452 votes.

Macanlalay is Bauzon’s father  first cousin.
Armando is  the village chief of Ambonao and a major ally of Pangasinan's Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr.

Councilor Dennis Torio said that the equation in the eight regular members'  Sangguniang Bayan are four solon from Macanlalay’s Nationalist People’s Coalition while Bauzon’s Liberal Party got three lawmakers and his tandem come backing vice mayoralty bet Ferdinand Galang, while another councilor came from UNA Party.

Bauzon  said he was not anxious about the plurality of the number of Macanlalay’s councilors. 

“I know Councillor Torio voted for me in the last election,” he jested to amuse Torio who joined him in the birthday celebration of their fair- haired boy for the coming village chief election in Barangay Macabito here.

An expert in the nuances of the politics here cited that all if not most of these NPC and UNA lawmakers would defect to Bauzon as he gears for his three years stint.

He said the experienced of former Mayor Roy Macanlalay, when he defeated the son of former mayor Celso de Vera saw lawmakers, the majority then, shifted allegiance to Macanlalay.

“The majority of the councilor in a quid pro quo changed loyalty to

Macanlalay and helped him by approving the ordinances in this town like the P60 million for the construction of the municipal hall after the old building was gutted by fire,” he stressed.

READ: 

Nephew beats uncle in P'gasinan town mayoralty race