BALER, Aurora—With Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo seeking reelection instead of challenging the candidacy of incumbent Gov. Gerardo Noveras, the battle royale for “Aurora-mageddon” has shifted to Congress where she will be squaring off with an ally-turned-political rival.
Angara-Castillo, who is undefeated in seven elections spanning 21 years, is being challenged by outgoing three-term San Luis Mayor Annabelle Tangson, her running mate in the 2004 elections when she first won as governor.
Tangson is the national president of the Lady Mayors Association of the Philippines.
The political alliance between the Angaras and the Tangsons soured after the 2007 elections when Angara-Castillo’s nephew, now Vice Gov. Rommel Rico Teh Angara, lost to Noveras in their vice gubernatorial race.
The Angaras had accused Tangson of junking Rommel in their hometown, a claim which the latter denied.
In 2010, Tangson’s younger brother, now Board Member Mariano Tangson, challenged Angara-Castillo’s bid for a third and last term but lost.
When Angara-Castillo celebrated her birthday in September 2011, she extended her hands of reconciliation to the Tangsons, even inviting the latter to attend her thanksgiving dinner in a move seen to ease political tensions between their respective camps.
Angara-Castillo said she invited the Tangsons not only to reconcile with them but also to forgive those who she felt had done her wrong.
She said after making her move, she felt so light-hearted. “I found out that that’s the feeling you get when you have no emotional baggage and you harbor no ill will against anyone,” she said.
Tangson said that while they were no longer allies, she and the governor had always been cordial when they bumped into each other on a number of occasions. “I am at peace with everybody,” she said.
The showdown between the two would have been averted if Angara-Castillo yielded to pressures from her own allies to seek the governorship against Noveras, a known supporter although not a partymate of Tangson.
Angara-Castillo said she expected Tangson to contest the congressional seat with her. “That’s her right to file her CoC,” she said.
The 56-year-old Tangson, who is 20 years Angara-Castillo’s junior, was quoted as saying the time is ripe for the young blood to take over the House seat in the lone congressional district of Aurora.
Angara-Castillo, responding to Tangson’s comments, said good governance is not measured by age but by the ability to do more for the people.
Angara-Castillo’s bailiwick is this capital town which had 21,474 voters in the 2013 elections while Tangson will rely on her hometown San Luis which has 16,004 voters in the 2013 polls.