Most Kaps Support Zaplan vs. Mayor Delos Santos

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

SANTA BARBARA, Pangasinan – Despite being a former long reigned mayor of this first class town, Lito Zaplan said that 20 out of the 29 village chiefs here support his mayoralty comeback in the May 9, 2022 election.

“It should be 25 but one of the them was a relative of the mayor (Joel F. delos Santos) and the others support him because of the projects being dangled to their barangays by the town hall,” he told this writer in the vernacular.

Zaplan - tandem with former non-commissioned policeman and ex- Councilor Isagani Ico as his vice mayoralty bet - will be pitted with re-elective Mayor Delos Santos and incumbent Vice Mayor Emmanuel Cabangon in the May 9, 2022 election.

GRUDGE FIGHT. (Left to right photo) Former long reigning mayor Lito Zaplan of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan will be pitted with incumbent Mayor Joel delos Santos in the May 9, 2022 election.

The protagonists and their slates for the Sanggunian Bayan (town’s legislature) have filed their respective certificate of candidacy (CoC) at the Commission on Election’s office here.

“20 kapitans support me and Governor (Amado) Espino (III),” Zaplan quipped.

The former mayor revealed that delos Santos borrowed P150 million from a bank to fund his infrastructures projects so he would look good before the eyes of his constituents.

Political kibitzers look with suspicion loan borrowing mayors in the bank as electoral weapon specially when the signing with the lender for its finality ensued near the election date.

“Yes, he used as collateral the multi-million pesos municipal hall I built in my term”.

The more or less P40 million town hall here is one of the biggest public edifices in the 44 towns and the 4 cities’ province.

Zaplan said the P32 million was only for the construction of the town hall.

“Iyong landscape sa harap ng municipio may pondo sa municipio, iyong mga designs sa pader gaing na sa private funds ko,” the former mayor, a big time contractor, said.

This central Pangasinan town, known for its brick making industry, is burgeoning because of the business taxes churning plants of Ginebra San Miguel and RC Cola to the local government unit here.

Zaplan told this newspaper in 2013 that Ginebra and RC Cola paid P21 million and P8 million, respectively, business taxes a year in his town

A source on conditioned of anonymity said that Zaplan’s son and namesake affectionately called by supporters as “Noy” lost by 107 votes among the 41,721 voters to Mayor Delos Santos in the acrimonious 2019 mayorship poll because of the superior fund Delos Santos and his financial backers used.

The Zaplans allegedly spent almost P30 million while Delos Santos purportedly shelled out P40 million in an office that gives only almost P150,000 (Salary Grade 28) a month for a three-year term.

The source said that a former congresswoman – a former ally - and an ex-congressman lent P20 million and P10 million, respectively, to the present mayor just to frustrate Zaplan, Jr bid for the highest post here.

“He spent P10 million from his personal funds,” the source allegedly said about Delos Santos – a young former Councilor of the SB here.