THERE is no stopping Bugallon Mayor Rodrigo Orduña as he raised the ante in his fight over the long-standing issue of illegal gambling in the province.

In his latest tirade, Orduña challenged Gov. Amado Espino Jr. to show a copy of his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN) to prove that his earnings came from legal businesses such as construction and to undergo a lie detector test together.

In a press conference Tuesday in Dagupan, Orduña reiterated his pronouncement in a national press conference in Manila the previous week that Espino, his former political ally, received as much as P900-million from the illegal numbers game jueteng, which he personally delivered.

“He should show his SALN and that is where the story would revolve. He should face it in court,” Orduña said.

He added that he has other witnesses who would corroborate his statements in his sworn affidavit in the plunder case against Espino he filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“This is also hurting to me because we had a good relationship in the past. But the truth will set us free,” the mayor said.

He frowned at a news story in a national daily that Espino allegedly put up various legitimate businesses to justify his wealth and not from jueteng as alleged by the mayor in a plunder case he filed against the governor.

Before facing the local media, Orduña and his supporters paid a courtesy call to Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, successor of retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz who is a staunch campaigner against jueteng.

Orduña, vowing to carry the fight “to the very end”, said, “I leave everything to God now and I hope what I did would serve a lesson to other people.”

“I will not gain anything here but headaches and troubles only but I have to for the people to know the truth,” he added.

PUBLICITY GIMMICK

On the other hand, Butch Velasco, provincial information officer, has questioned why Orduña continues to seek publicity when he has already filed a plunder case before the Ombudsman.

“He himself brought the issue to the court. Why doesn’t he wait for the decision of the Ombudsman? Why does he still resort to publicity gimmicks?” Velasco said, adding that Orduña’s motive is clearly to tarnish the governor’s image.

NOT POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED

Meanwhile, Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza, who is running against Espino in the May 2013 election for governor, brushed aside Espino’s claim that the allegations hurled against him were politically-motivated.

In a Media in Action forum here Thursday, Braganza said pointing at politics “is the most convenient way”.

In a statement issued by the Liberal Party (LP), Braganza was quoted as telling Espino to “look at the mirror and see who’s to blame for the jueteng mess in Pangasinan”.

Braganza and his running-mate, retired Philippine National Police chief Arturo Lomibao, admitted the jueteng issue against the governor is favorable to them.

“Ric (Orduna) has a mind of his own, so let’s give it to him and see what will happen to this issue. Everybody will have a day in court,” he said.

LP-NPC WAR?

As the issue heats up, division among allied political parties also seems to be brewing.

The LP and the Nationalist People’s Coalition, under which Espino is running, has issued separate statements despite the two parties’ alliance at the national level.

Braganza explained that there was a committee formed for senatorial and local candidates in line with the coalition among LP, NPC, Nacionalista Party and Akbayan, but one of the provinces that was unresolved was Pangasinan.

“It’s an ongoing process in our province. I would love to see the day that finally, the NPC-LP-NPC coalition would just have one candidate for the province. I think what is happening is the course of arbitration or elimination,” Braganza said.

“Out of respect for the coalition, we have not said any comments against the leaders of the NPC. More important to us is to preserve that national coalition because what’s more important is the national agenda of the President,” he said.

“So we are the last people on this planet to do anything to destroy that coalition. We have high regard to the party leader and the leader of the nation and of course we would always abide by the decision of the party of the higher national interest as regards our game plan in the province of Pangasinan,” he said.

Espino, for his part, expressed full support to the NPC and vowed to remain loyal to the group.

At the same time, Espino pledged his support to LP, the ruling coalition of President Benigno Aquino III even as he expressed full determination to press charges against his political enemies next week. —Eva Visperas with report from Johanne R. Macob

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