Brewing Tension Bet. the Camps of Sec. Estrella, Cong. Agabas?

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

What I liked about writing my columns on my laptop and posting them on my blogs’101 Talk Radio and P'NAN News, readers around the globe who relished the recent op-ed articles (that became viral based on the blogs’ stats) Battle Royal Looms bet. Bataoil, Kimi Cojuangco and Pincoy can Give Gina a Run for her Money (I wrote to feed the cerebral of Pangasinan readers during the long Yuletide’s holidays), eventually call me on either my Messenger or my mobile phone and give some scoops so I could further excite the blog’s followers.

Here’s one:

Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella, III (left)  and House Deputy Majority Speaker and Pangasinan 6th District Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas. 

Don’t you know that there is a brewing tension between the camps of Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrad Estrella, III and Pangasinan 6^th District Cong. Marlyn Premicias-Agabas?

The cause of the riff, my source who asked on conditioned of anonymity, started when Estrella’s younger brod Cong. Robert Raymund “Eskimo” Estrella, who is the lone Representative of Abono Partylist, passed a bill in the House of Representatives to transform Pangasinan six congressional districts to eight.

(MY QUESTION: Why file a bill for an eight- district when we could have up to 12 districts based on our more than three million population by using the Constitutional barometer of not least than 250, 000 population for creating a congressional district?)

 My source said that Cong. Estrella’s bill carved out the towns of Asingan, Balungao and Rosales and Sta. Maria – both the bailiwick of the Estrellas - all from the old 6^th District for the new 7^th District that includes too the towns of Villasis and Sto. Tomas of the 5^th District.

My informer told me that the actuation of Estrella – whose brother and him have shaky alliance with 6^th District Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas – offended the camp of the latter. Agabas’ hubby – a former congressman – is the incumbent Tayug Mayor Tyrone Agabas.

“Since she is a Deputy Majority Leader of the 19^th Congress, she could torpedo the bill in the committee level before it goes to the plenary for votation,” my source – an avid reader - told me when I pooh-poohed how can a lone congresswoman frustrates a bill for the welfare of the folks in Pangasinan when the 315 members of the House of Representatives resort to the popular votes and not her to catapult the bill into a law (of course with the collaboration of the Senate and the final signature of the President to make it a real law - as what our Prof taught us in Political Science).

All the optimism of Secretary Estrella - who grooms his son to run as congressman of the planned 7^th District – went to the drain, my source narrated, after learning that Rep. Agabas as Deputy Majority Leader could undermine the redistricting or congressional apportionment of the 7^th District.

The Secretary, my source cited, was preparing now his son to challenge Agabas for her reelection in case the 7^th District could not be realized before the May 2025 Election.

“Hindi maganda iyan pag naglaban iyang dalawang pamilya lalo silang magagastusan,” I quipped.

***

There was a Congressman in the mammoth province before who told another solon that they should create pronto a congressional apportionment so they would not clash for the congressional diadem in a particular district comes election time.

“Mag redistricting na tayo para hindi na tayo maglabanlaban sa election,” my solon pal quoted him for my information.

But it did not happen because two members of the House of Thieves, err, Representatives blocked the apportionment because they are threatened that some of the towns in their area would go to another district.

“So what’s the fuss if some towns go to another district?” you my dear readers would ask.

“The fuss, my Dear Watson, is less towns for their district means less national projects that cost up to one billion pesos or more a year”.

Just imagine the downside if that P1 billion or more a year project is reduced and its effect to the political stocks of the solon on the affected area.