By Mortz C. Ortigoza
SAN FABIAN, Pangasinan – The last term town mayor here
said he would no longer seek another elective office like the vice mayoralty
after his service ends in June 30, 2022.
Mayor Constante “Danny” Agbayani, 49, disclosed that he wants to rest after his nine years uninterrupted term when he defeated
the wife of his godfather former mayor Mojamito Libunao in the 2013
mayoralty election here.
He said that even his wife or any of his children would not run for the mayoral election.
“Magpapahinga na
ako pagkatapos ng term ko,” he told this writer and some guests mostly
members of the legislative body of Mangaldan, Pangasinan at the party table in
the 83rd birthday of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia held at
his coastal residence in Dagupan City.
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GUESTS. San Fabian Mayor Danny Agbayani (second from
left) Mangaldan Councilors lawer Joseph Emmanuel Cera (extreme left) and
Mangaldan Liga President Rolly Abalos (standing), Mangaldan Vice Mayor Jojo
Surdilla (second from right) and author (extreme right) during the 83rd
birthday celebration of former Five-Time House Speaker Joe de Venecia held at his
coastal residence in Barangay Binloc, Dagupan City.
Agbayani was a reluctant candidate for the mayorship in
the 2013 election after Libuano ended his nine years’ term and commissioned his
wife Irene, a nurse, to succeed him.
The spouses Libuano used to switch the mayoralty
position to govern the town for almost two decade.
“I was the ABC
president and I was hiding not to attend some meetings of the village chiefs
because many of them wanted me to run for the mayorship but I was not
interested,” Agbayani, who was the
president of the 34 villages’ town League of Barangays, said.
During the caucus, the barangay chairpersons were
evaluating the viability of Board Member Liberato “Revi” Villigas and lawyer
Gerald Gubatan.
“The village chiefs
told Revi to run instead for the provincial board while several of them told
Gerald that they would not support him because of political reasons that nearly
cause a fisticuff between him and a vocal barangay chairman,” Agbayani
stressed in Filipino.
Without the majority supports by the village chiefs to Villegas
and Gubatan, a son of the long serving mayor, some of them recommend to the
body that Agbayani instead run to stop the Libunaos perennial gripped and winning streak in the
coastal town.
He cited he was cash-strapped in the 2013 poll where former
congressional candidate Dr. Tessie de Venecia went to his succor.
Agbayani beat
Irene with more than 8,000 votes.
“Dr. Tessie had beef to grind against the
Libunaos, loaned her house and lot to help shore up my
campaign chest,”Agbayani said in a mixed of Tagalog and Pangasinense.
Even his sisters working abroad chipped in funds to buttress his stocks,” Agbayani told this writer before.
He cited that even with the superior wherewithal of the
Libunao since one of them was the incumbent mayor, the people still gravitated
to him in 2013 where they voted him overwhelmingly.
“I won in a landslide in that election. I won in all
the barangays except one where I lost almost two dozens of votes,” the
stout mayor stressed.
He cited that after the election he had still two million
pesos left that he bought a sports utility vehicle he would be using as a
public official.
“Mabuti ng bumili ng sasakyan bago mag umpisang umupo
para iwas intriga na binulbulsa ko ang pera ng bayan,” he amusedly said.
After the 2013 victory, Agbayani significantly
transformed from a shoestring budgeted ABC President to a major contractor
because of his closeness to former Pangasinan Fifth District Congressman Amado
T. Espino, Jr and his namesake and son the governor of Pangasinan.
In the 2016 and 2019 mayoralty elections, Agbayani
defeated former mayor Mojamito Libunao, a lawyer, with 11, 795 and
more than 22, 000 lead votes, respectively.
“I offered him millions of pesos financial support to run instead for the provincial board but
he declined and instead challenged against me,” he said of Libunao who was financially
lethargic against his formidable political machine in the recent poll.
Political pundits said that without Agbayani or any
immediate member of his family in the 2022 mayoral election, this tobacco
growing first class town will see Libunao, Gubatan, and even vice mayor Marinor
de Guzman clash with each other for the prime political post here.
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