Lazatin ‘shocked’ over Santiago-Agustin tandem

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — City Councilor Jimmy Lazatin expressed Sunday his surprise over the tandem of Vice Mayor Edwin “Edsa” Santiago and Councilor Renato “Ato” Agustin in the 2013 race here.

Lazatin, a supporter of Mayor Oscar “Oca” Rodriguez and Santiago in the 2010 elections, surfaced late last year as the possible running mate of Santiago, who is eyeing the city’s mayoralty post.

However, one political mover, who refused to be named, said political lines have drastically changed in favor of Agustin in the Santiago and Rodriguez camps.

Despite this, the source said Lazatin remains popular among village chiefs of the city.

“Like most Fernandinos, I am as surprised as the next person that an Edsa-Ato tandem surfaced,” Lazatin said.

Lazatin told Sun.Star Pampanga that in all his three terms in office, he has been a team player supporting the Oca-Edsa team.

“To this day, that's about eight years now. We have fought together election after election, side by side, with our principles intact, winning over and over as a team,” Lazatin said.

In the start of his my third term in 2010, he said the Oca-Edsa tandem once again approached him and requested to take one for the team.

Lazatin said he was to set aside his personal political aspirations and give way once again and support an Edsa-Lazatin tandem in 2013.

In 2010, Lazatin was being pushed to run for the mayoralty seat.

“This move, I was told, was to strengthen the LP (Liberal Party) ticket in the City of San Fernando in 2013. For the love of the team, for the principles we have continued to fight for, I relented. Isinantabi ko ang personal kong kagustuhan, para sa kapakanan ng marami (I will set aside personal choices for the sake of the majority),” he said.

After that talk with the local LP leadership, Lazatin said he once again buried himself with work and focused on his work in uplifting education and creating an environment for good governance.

“Then one day, lo and behold, I was suddenly taken aback by the announcement of an LP ticket, this time with a new tandem, the Edsa-Ato ticket. No one from my party approached me regarding this new development. I was as shocked as an ordinary person receiving the news for the first time,” he said.

“I was not even given the courtesy of knowing this new development before they unveiled the new tandem,” Lazatin added.

He said that while people can speculate all they want about the politics that came to play to arrive at this tandem,
he feels that the best way for anyone to get real answers is from the original Oca-Edsa tandem.

“They are in the best position to answer the questions in all our minds. What kind of negotiations led to an Edsa-Ato tandem? I’m sure the Fernandinos would like to know,” Lazatin said.

Sun.Star Pampanga tried to get comments from Santiago last Wednesday but the latter declined.