AHEAD OF ARBITRATION BODY’S DECISION

LINGAYEN–Now it’s official.

Governor Victor Agbayani, in a press conference Wednesday at the Urduja House, has ended all speculations as he officially announced that his wife, Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani, is running for governor this coming May elections.

Her running mate will be outgoing fifth district Board Member Dionisio Villar Jr.

Villar is the cousin of Undersecretary for Local Governance Antonio Villar Jr, leader of the Biskeg Pangasinan political party.

For her part, Mrs. Agbayani said “It was a long process of decision-making and that the consensus was our leaders want a continuity of the Agbayani brand of leadership in Pangasinan.”

The governor’s father, the late Aguedo Agbayani, was governor of the province from 1971 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 1994. The incumbent governor is about to complete his nine years or three successive terms making a total of 27 long years of Agbayani stewardship in Pangasinan.

Mrs. Agbayani said she recently signed up as a member of the administration Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party chaired by her husband.

She will now have to slug it out with outgoing Vice Governor Oscar Lambino, the party’s provincial chairman, who is also gunning for the governorship, for the Lakas party nomination.

Lambino said he was not aware that Mrs. Agbayani is already a Lakas member and that if true he described the situation as a “conjugal partnership”. He said he had no prior knowledge about the membership of Mrs. Agbayani.

The 41-year old Mrs. Agbayani said having been Pangasinan’s First Lady for the past nine years gave her a first hand experience not only in the health sector but in other fields.  As she, a pediatrician, she managed to assist during the provincial government’s medical missions.

She said she is willing to sacrifice her medical practice as well as time with her four children to serve Pangasinan.

The governor said he has submitted the list of their candidates, which he describes as a very strong and powerful team, to be decided on by the Arbitration Committee composed of Lakas, Liberal Party, Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino.

He said their ticket will abide by the committee’s decision particularly about his wife’s party nomination.

“We will cross the bridge when we get there,” he said.

In 1998, Agbayani failed to get the administration party nomination but he went on with his fight and won handily over then Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani.

The governor said that he will fully support his wife’s candidacy and is no longer inclined to run anymore for the second district’s congressional seat. —EVA

Jamie says she’s ready

Mrs. Agbayani said she is absolutely ready to take on the top position for the province but admitted that she will be depending on the guidance of her husband and other leaders.

“As governor, I would be relying on the advice and wisdom of our leaders, especially my husband who served as vice governor for three years and governor for the past nine years,” Dr. Agbayani said.

Observers considered the announcement of Agbayani to have preempted the decision of the national arbitration committee whose members are still meeting in Manila to decide on a common candidate for the coalition in Pangasinan.—EVA/LM

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