FORMER congressman Mark Cojuangco must now be running scared that he has resorted to twisting facts about his gubernatorial rival, Provincial Board Member Amado “Pogi” Espino III, and unwittingly insulted barangay chairmen in the process.

This was the reaction of supporters of the young Espino after Mr. Cojuangco was quoted in a news item by Rappler, an online media news organization, where he was quoted as saying he is fighting “only a barangay captain.”

Mr. Espino’s camp said this is a disrespect if not an insult to barangay captains in the province, belittling their status.

They said to set the records straight, Espino III is an incumbent Board Member and served as a three-term mayor of the town of Bautista who was  unopposed in his second and third terms of office.

During his nine-year stint as town executive, he transformed Bautista from a modest agricultural town to a thriving commercial municipality.

In comparison, what did the Cojuangco couple did in the town of Sison which reports said was the only town without a public market, they said.

At the same time, based on the report of the Save Pangasinan Movement (SPM), the Cojuangco couple has not accounted for close to P1 billion in tobacco excise taxes they supposedly got for towns in the 5th district of Pangasinan that they started to receive since 2010. 

They said Espimo III, on the other hand, has had an untarnished public service record as a young public official. He joined the provincial board after he won unopposed as the president of the Provincial League of Barangay Captains.

“Cojuangco must be afraid of the fact that the son of Governor Amado Espino Jr.  is now on top of the grassroots organization of barangay officials whose loyalties are bound to ensure his victory in the 2016 elections,” they added.

They revealed a  recent pre-poll survey in the fifth congressional district, perceived to be a Cojuangco bailiwick, commissioned by a group supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Jejomar Binay, showing the former congressman trailing Espino by a wide margin.

Cojuangco even lost in Sison and suffered a crippling blow in the survey in Bautista, Espino’s hometown. 

The same survey had the young Espino leading by as much as 70 percent in the neighboring towns of Alcala and Sto. Tomas. (Leonardo Micua)

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments