“Full Support for Celeste” – Bayambang Mayor

Mortz C. Ortigoza

BAYAMBANG – “Expect our full support for Celeste for governor!” declared to thousands of supporters by the mayor here at the air conditioned state-of-art public gymnasium who accompanied him after he and his ticket filed recently their certificates of candidacy (COC) at the office of the Commission on Election.

Mayor Cezar Quiambao told this newspaper that he and his constituents will support the governorship bid of Alaminos City Mayor Art Celeste versus Pangasinan Governor Amado I. Espino, III in the May 13, 2019 election.

“Two days ago we took our oath of offices as members of the Nationalista Party. Since Art is a member of the Nationalista Party what I can share with you expect our full support for Celeste for governor,” Quiambao, a business tycoon, declared in a press conference that included his thousands of supporters who listen attentively on the series of questions and answers between the chief executive here and the more more than a dozen of reporters.

Q & A - Re-elective Bayambang Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao, reelectionist Vice Mayor Raul R. Sabangan and their complete slates for the Sangguniang Bayan (legislature) for the first class thriving town face members of the media for a press conference while thousands of supporters of the Team Quiambao listen. The event was held at the town gymnasium after the party filed their certificates of candidacy at the election office in the town.

 After witnessing the filing of the CoCs

 of Celeste in Dagupan City, reporters motored immediately at 10 am last October 12 from the provincial Comelec office in Dagupan City to witness the reelectionist Mayor Quiambao and his party filed their CoCs at the Comelec Office here at 11:30 am of the same day.

Through the political strategy of Quiambao, 2016 gubernatorial candidate Mark Cojuangco won against his rival Amado I. Espino, III with more than two thousand votes  in this burgeoning town.

Governor Espino’s father and namesake, Pangasinan Fifth District Congressman Espino Jr, is a political nemesis of the mayor here after the solon sided with Quiambao’s mayoralty rival Zenaida and her husband former mayor Ricardo Camacho.

The sale/swap in year 2003 of the 3.2 hectares real property

Bayambang Central School based in the Poblacion here put strained that resulted to the fall out between the mayor and the congressman. It also became acrimonious in the media that covered its complicity from the people involved like Quiambao, Camacho, and others and to its litigation in court.

The mayor and Espino were high school classmates at the government school located in the poblacion.

“He was our salutatorian. My best friend was our valedictorian,” Quiambao recalled when asked by this reporter how the former governor and the present solon was when they were in the secondary school.

He said Espino would ride in his bike from his house in the nearby town of Bautista, a former village of this town, in going to and from the school in the weekdays.

INTERVIEW -  Reporters lead by Media Affairs Officer Dr. Leticia B. Ursua (extreme right) of the local government unit of Bayambang, Pangasinan pose questions to re-elective Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao in a press conference he called after his party filed their certificates of candidacy for the May 13, 2019 election.