Gov. Pogi vs. Monching Guico for Cong. Race
By Mortz C. Ortigoza
The fluid political landscape of Pangasinan has some of its personalities shifted their electoral aspirations.
Sources of this newspaper said that the interest by political spectators snowballed as Fifth District Rep. Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III is now pitted with former Governor Amado “Espines” T. Espino, Jr. - instead of his son and namesake the Governor - for the top elective post in the forty four towns and three cities’ province.
The reports came from people who attended the July 24 formal launching in Binalonan, Pangasinan of the gubernatorial bid of Guico and the re-election of Vice Governor Mark Lambino for the May 9, 2022 poll.
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| POLITICAL BRASS of Pangasinan. From left photo clockwise: Former Governor Amado "Espines" T. Espino, Jr., Fifth District Rep. Ramon "Monmon" Guico, III, incumbent Governor Amado "Pogi" Espino, III, and Binalonan Mayor Ramon "Monching" Guico, Jr. |
They said too that Espino’s governor son will aim for another battle royale with seasoned Binalonan Mayor Ramon Guico, Jr. in the congressional race in the Fifth District of the province.
“Espines versus Monmon sa governorship. Pogi versus Monching sa congressional race. Wala na si Arboleda (It’s Amado Espino, Jr. versus Monmon Guico for the governorship. Pogi Espino versus Monching Guico. Former Board Member Nino Arboleda was gone on the congressional equation),” Ernesto Cayabyab, a veteran tabloid reporter in Manila, told this Writer.
Another source, who asked for anonymity, said the switching of the potential congressional bet Maan Guico, the wife of the solon, to her father-in-law Monching is to make competitive the tussle in the eight towns and one city’s eastern Pangasinan district with the marquee opponent - the younger Espino.
"Mayor Monching and Cong. Monmon were seen last Wednesday in the inauguration of a concrete road in Alcala and Pozurrobio. With Monching in another town there is a possibility of his congressional run."
In case the reports gathered by this newspaper have their credibility, the intention of the older Espino for the governorship will be a grudged fight to the young Guico.
In the 2019 congressional race in the Fifth District, the young solon decked out Espino with a lead votes of 3,512 or (1.42 %) of the 246, 760 electorates that went to the ballot boxes and casted their votes.
Espino is a bemedaled retired Police Colonel who survived various ambuscades from the Communist guerrillas when he was a young Lieutenant with the defunct Philippine Constabulary.
Three months before the May 13, 2019 election, Guico was seen in a commissioned poll distributed to selected media men to suffer a grim prospect of defeat as seen by scientific outfit of Art Valenzuela's Vox Populi Polls.
The pollster - that predicted the losses in the governorship races of Hernani Braganza, Mark Cojuangco, and Art Celeste – showed Espino led by 84% while the young rival trailed him by a pathetic 16% votes.
Guico re-strategized by outwitting the political astute Espino with a hair thin lead to win the race and an upset in the annals of the electoral history of the mammoth province.
The saving grace of Espino in that fateful poll, his allies like governorship bet Pogi Espino and congressional candidate Jumel Espino -both his sons – won against former Congressman Celeste and former Board Member Raul Sison – a smarting political deserter from the Espino camp.
Political analysts cited that the former Governor's loss to Guico because he stretched into thin lines his resources when he expanded the political theater where he funded the elections of his wife Mely - who is now Bugallon mayor -, his man Friday Liseldo “Dong” Calugay – who is now the mayor of the fourth richest town in the Philippines, the congressional bid of Tim Orbos in the First District where he lost to Noli Celeste - a member of the family who is the political nemesis of the Espinos - and his two sons.
“Naka tsamba lang si Monmon (Monmon was just lucky),” jeered by the former Governor’s commentator friends in the radio stations in Dagupan City on Guico winning the diadem of the congressional race.
Guico will prove to all and sundry in the next year’s election that he is no fluke to the formidable political machinery and chutzpah of the Espinos who kept knocking out opponents that threatened their hegemony.
Their victims were Dr. Jamie Agbayani (Amado, Jr. led votes by 28,302 ), Jamie’s husband former veteran Governor and Congressman Victor (Amado, Jr. led votes by 526,148), former activist and the acerbic talking former Congressman Braganza (Amado, Jr. led votes by 554,351) Ex-Congressman Cojuangco (Pogi led votes to his wedding sponsor or Godfather by 219,163), and the charismatic former Congressman Art Celeste (Pogi led votes by 199,201).
Can Guico deal another upset to a veteran politico Amado Espino, Jr. who is already known by many of the almost two million voters in the public centers of the cities and towns and boondocks of the huge province?
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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA
I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me
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