“Things are getting interesting in Pampanga.”
“Things are getting interesting in Pampanga.”
Even before venturing into politics, the name Pineda has been lording it all over the province of Pampanga. Maybe because the patriarch, Bong Pineda, has been perpetually linked to gambling – legal or otherwise. In fact, it was the basis of this platform – anti-gambling — that suspended priest Among Ed Panilio ran and won the province’s gubernatorial seat in 2007, scoring a huge upset beating Bong’s wife, then Provincial Board Member Lilia, by a slim margin of just over a thousand votes.
The Pinedas however rebounded in 2010, with Lilia beating Among Ed. Since then, the Pinedas have held the province’s top post, facing no serious challengers.
Until now.
Like all the other candidates for next year’s election, former Candaba Mayor Danilo Baylon filed his certificate of candidacy sans any fanfare as it was banned by the Commission on Elections citing the risks posed under this pandemic. In fact, only a few were aware he was running for governor, challenging incumbent Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda.
His townmate, also a former mayor of his town, Jerry Pelayo, then started organizing small consultations groups with their cabalens to discuss their grievances, problems affecting their towns and Baylon’s own perceptions and programs.
According to Pelayo, Baylon decided to run for governor as he felt the Pinedas, governor for the past 11 years, have neglected their province.
There have been no consultations with farmers, tourism is at a low point (this was aggravated by the cancellation of the annual Ibun-Ebon Festival), the rivers are heavily polluted, contributing to occasional flooding — and other issues.
Even the anti-COVID vaccination rollout has been described as snail-paced.
Pelayo said that the only thing active in Pampanga is the collection from quarrying which could have contributed to addressing the province’s pollution problem. Unfortunately, Pelayo said it seemed the current provincial governor might have forgotten that a part of the collection should go to the program for proper waste disposal.
For his part, Baylon said that one thing which keeps Pampanga going these days is gambling. This after Bong’s e-sabong had been given the green light to operate legally.
While Pelayo, who incidentally used to be a supporter of the Pinedas, might have been mincing strong criticisms against his candidate’s rival, Dennis, it was but expected. What is election in the Philippines without the traditional mudslinging, although voters now, with the advent of social media, have ready access to information, enabling them to decipher whether the attacks are fake or accurate.
At any rate, Baylon’s quest for Pampanga’s top post, with the backing of Pelayo, remained as it is. Another small-town (err, province) politics — until it hogged the national limelight when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo entered the picture.
Asked to comment on Pelayo’s open support for Baylon, the former being an erstwhile ally, Arroyo articulated her support of the Pinedas.
“The decision of former Mayor Jerry Pelayo to support an opposition gubernatorial candidate in Pampanga is his own personal opinion,” Arroyo stated in a statement posted on Facebook.
“My family supports Governor Dennis Pineda and Vice-Governor Lilia Pineda all the way,” she averred.
Personally, I think the former president was ill-advised in issuing such a statement. I don’t mean to undermine Pelayo; he is a close friend. But from a common perspective, it is as if Arroyo, a former president, is stooping down to the level of Pelayo, a former mayor of an average town of Pampanga.
What could be the repercussion of such a statement of support? Picture it like this. Imagine Baylon scoring an upset over Pineda. What then would the people, not only in Pampanga, but maybe in the whole country make of this? That Pelayo’s endorsement or support holds more credibility than Arroyo’s? A former average town mayor holding more clout than a former president?
And by openly endorsing the Pinedas (Lilia by the way is running for reelection as vice governor), Arroyo had transformed this one-on-one tiff as David vs. Goliath showdown, Baylon being the small warrior. Oh, how the Filipinos love an underdog.
And, as Pelayo says it himself, Baylon is not hard to sell. Like him, Baylon is also serious in reviving the province’s tourism industry, and famed food industry.
For peace, order, safety and security, Baylon is planning to install CCTV cameras on major thoroughfares.
At the same time, Pelayo says Baylon seeks to strengthen the Provincial Development Council which he claims has been lagging in performance.
All these, Pelayo says, have been neglected in the more than one decade of the Pinedas’ reign.
Pelayo admits he feels Baylon’s sincerity to serve the people of Pampanga, and that he realizes Baylon’s desire to lead the province to have inclusive growth and bring more opportunities and benefits to every section of the society.
I really hate to say this. But I think this has just become a proxy war between Mrs. Arroyo and Pelayo, both very close to me.