Ex-Cong., Contractor to Clash in Kap, Mayoral Races

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

My informant in Bugallon told me that former 2nd District Congressman Jumel Espino will run as Kapitan in a village of the second class town comes October’s barangay election this year.

Jumel is the scion of former Pangasinan Governor and Congressman Amado T. Espino, Jr. and Bugallon Mayor Mely Espino. His older brother is former governor Amado “Pogi” Espino, III. Pogi and Jumel lost in the last year’s election to the well-funded political juggernaut of the now incumbent Governor Monmon Guico and present 2nd District Cong. Mark Cojuangco, respectively.

Guico and Pogi Espino garnered 885,272, 697,465 votes, respectively where the former had a margin of 187,807 votes.

 Cojuangco got 150,472 while Jumel obtained 135,888 votes  or a lead votes of 14,584 for the winner.

A few days before the electoral derby, the funds for the Espino’s congressional ally’s Oscar Orbos (a former congressman and executive secretary) have been diverted, as my other sources told me, to the eight towns 2nd District to stall the snowballing popularity of Guico and Cojuangco. As a result, Orbos was gobbled by come backing congressman Art Celeste riding on the Celestes’ political machinery in western Pangasinan. Celeste and Orbos got 155, 372 and 82, 983 votes, respectively. A lead vote – a massacre, son of a gun! - of 72,389.

“Bumabaha ang pera kahit tapos na ang election. Hanggang highway magmula sa bahay niya (Poblacion Lingayen) ang haba ng pila,” a lady executive of the local government unit of Lingayen exclaimed in Tagalog to me when I bumped into her about how moneyed was Cojuangco even after that poll.

***

Now I digress on Jumel Espino for Kapitan.

 “What?! Why would a former Congressman demote himself by joining the barangay election?” I posed.

 “Para may ginagawa siya as public official,” my mole retorted.

My spy explained that Jumel real ambition is for the mayoral election in May 2025.

But here’s the rub: Jumel will be facing the town’s Liga ng mga Barangays (LMB) President (folks still call its ole’ name’s ABC) and ex-oficio member of the Sangguniang Bayan William Dy, a multi-millionaire contractor and political ally of Governor Guico, who has a plan to reelect as barangay chairman and LMB President.

Espino and Dee are groomed to clash for the mayoralty election in May 2025.

According to my spook, most of the members of the Sangguniang Bayan (lawmaking body) and Vice Mayor Winston P. Tandoc have long deserted the Espinos and realigned now with Guico – a phenomenon that could be impossible during the political heydays of Ama, Pogi and Jumel.