Bani votes for 33-year old woman as new mayor
BANI—A 33 year-old mother, who has previously served as municipal councilor, has broken the 40-year rule of the Navarro family in this small town in the western part of Pangasinan.
Cothera Gwen Palafox-Yamamoto, a mother of two, said her victory signifies the change that the town has long needed.
Yamamoto defeated Mayor Marcelo Navarro Jr., who was vying for his third term following the mayoralty terms of his brother Ambet and their father, Marcelo.
“It’s high time our town wakes up,” she said as she celebrated her triumph.
Yamamoto, a History/ Political Science graduate of the University of the Philippines-Baguio, said she went straight to the communities, campaigning house-to-house, and pleaded the voters to choose change.
It proved to be still a close fight, with Yamamoto getting around 10,500 votes, just 248 votes more than Navarro.
As a councilor, she said she saw the people’s needs that were undelivered and felt that traditional politics was not serving the public well.
While nervous about going against what she called “an institution”, Yamamoto said she felt during the campaign how people clamored for change.
“Politics stops now. When we assume on July 1, everything must be non-political,” she said.—Eva Visperas
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