Espino’s Mayor Defects to the Camp of Cojuangco, Guico

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

LABRADOR, Pangasinan - An incumbent mayor in the eight towns’ 2nd Congressional District of Pangasinan has just abandoned Rep. Jumel Anthony I. Espino and defected to the camps of his rival Mark Cojuangco and opposition party’s governorship candidate Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III.

The source of Northern Watch Newspaper said that this town’s Chief Executive Dominador “Doming” Arenas burned his bridges recently with Congressman Espino that could surely affect the political equation in chalking up of votes here of the two marquee candidates three months and a-half to the May 9, 2022 national election.

DEFECTOR. Labrador Mayor Dominador "Doming" Arenas (3rd from left, photo) abandoned 2nd District Congressman Jumel Espino by defecting to the camp of the opposition's  party headed by governorship candidate Ramon "Monmon" Guico, III (2nd from left) and Espino's congressional rival Mark Cojuangco (4th from left). Extreme right is the district's Board Member Von Mark Mendoza. He is one of the Praetorian Guards of the opposition who wants to frustrate the long reign of the Espinos in the congressional and provincial powers in the humongous province.

“Scooped Mortz. Si Mayor Doming Arenas ng Labrador sumanib na kay Cong. Mark Cojuangco kahapon. Lumipat ng barko. Papalubog na ba sa kabila? Hahahaha! (Scooped Mortz. Mayor Doming Arenas of Labrador joined yesterday the camp of Cong. Mark Cojuangco. He changed alliances. Is the ship of the Espino’s sinking? Hahaha!),” the source, on conditioned of anonymity, said.

  Cojuangco, a former nine years’ congressional representative of the 5^th District of Pangasinan, was defeated by 736,909 votes by the older brother of Congressman Espino in the 2016 governorship election. He - in an expensive election - settled with 513,897 votes. Cojuangco wife’s reelectionist 5^th District Rep. Kimi Cojuangco was bludgeoned by the Espino’s juggernaut in that 2016 election by 133,381 votes in favor to the father of the Espinos’ former Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. Kimi got only 92,943 votes.

 The older Espino’s however lost his congressional diadem to Guico in the 2019 election by a hair thin 3,512 or (1.42 %) votes of the 246, 760 electorates. It was an upset in the mammoth province’s acrimonious politics as the older Espino was a heavyweight inconsequential prolific shrewd politician who mentored his two sons, mayor- wife, and allies how to win polls.

To restrain the winning streaks of the Espinos in the electoral derbies, the opposition composed by its “high priests” Guico, Presidential Adviser for Northern Luzon and Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CEZA) Administrator and Secretary Raul Lambino, former First District Cong. Art Celeste, and Bayambang Billionaire- Mayor Cezar Quiambao egged Cojuangco - with financial and political come ons - to change his domicile and voting situs from Eastern Pangasinan to the central part of the province and give the Espinos a scary tough financially laden rivalry for the national and provincial positions in Pangasinan.

One of this major supporters had contributed hundreds of millions of pesos to the political kitty of the Opposition as the hustings – where newly procured helicopters have been used in the whistle stops -  in the three cities and forty-four towns of the humongous province that started late of last year.

“Lahat po ng mga ayuda na aking ipinapamahagi ay mula sa sarili kong bulsa. Ang pera po na ito ay mula sa dugo at pawis ko bilang negosyante at agrikulturista sa loob ng mahabang panahon. Kinikilala ko po bilang sakripisyo ang mga inisyatiba na ito upang makapagbigay ng simpleng tulong sa higit 130,000 pamilya sa Distrito Dos. Ito lamang ang paraan namin, bilang mga serbisyo publiko, na maghatid ng tulong sa panahon ng krisis. Lubos po akong natutuwa sa buong-pusong pagtanggap niyo sa mga ayuda naming handog. Ang mga sariwang ngiti at bagong pag-asa ay nangangahulugan na worth itong mga sakripisyo na aming inilaan para sa inyo!,” Cojuangco posted in Facebook last January 27, 2022 about the food aids he and his supporters generously give to the people of the district.

After the filing of the certificate of candidacy (CoC), Cojuangco and Guico have been seen roving and giving food aids to the 514,041 (PSA 2020) population’s district.

The camp of Governor Espino, III won a propaganda coup in the first week of November 2021 against his rival Guico when Urdaneta Mayor  Julio “Rammy” Parayno, III  bolted out the latter smarting  that he was betrayed.

Parayno was known to be a loyalist of the Aliguas Guico Lambino (AGUILA) ticket known as the tandem of governorship candidate Guico and Vice Governor Mark Lambino – the son of one of the Praetorian Guards of the opposition.
“Matagal ko ng kinikimkim iyan at alam ko rin na nag-uusap at pumupunta pa mismo si Cong.Mon-mon sa bahay ng mga Perez at bakit pa nila ako pinalabanan kung talagang kaalyado nila ako?” he said.

 But Guico’s father and namesake 5^th District Congressional candidate and Binalonan Mayor vehemently denied to this writer that he and his governorship bet son betrayed Parayno.

“Ito ang pangyayari: Pinag-dududahan kasi ni Mayor Parayno na pinapalaban daw namin si Mayor Bobom Perez. Kasi daw (kami) nagpapalaban sa kanya. Sabi ko papaano ko ipapalaban sa iyo si Bobom Perez e iyong CONA (Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance) ni Mayor Parayno galing sa akin.

Urdaneta City has a 90, 000 voters or more than one - fourth among the more or less 350, 000 voters of the eight towns and one city’s 5^th Congressional District.

The 2^nd Congressional District on the other hand has more or less 240, 000 voters while this fourth class town has more or less 20,000 electorates.

Arenas, who speaks Cebuano and Pangasinan, has been a seasoned mayor here who won his another mandate in the 2016 poll by defeating former Mayor Ricardo Camacho.

"Arenas has been resurrected in Labrador because of the Espinos. He was politically backed up by the Espinos where he defeated Mayor Camacho in the 2016 election," a source told this newspaper.

With Arenas at the folds of Aguila, the group has reinvigorated its ingratiation game in the district after lone opposition backer Urbiztondo Mayor Martin Raul Sison – the son of the Espinos political rival - supports the aspiration of Cojuangco and Guico.

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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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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 on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.