The Nepomucenos and the Lazatins (part 1)

ONE of the most interesting political stories that editors of local newspapers in the province will pick as their year-ender is the merging of the two political families this year, the Nepomucenos and the Lazatins.

It was a big letdown that Mayor Ed Pamintuan felt when Congressman Carmelo 'Tarzan' Lazatin not only abandoned their partnership, but jumped over the fence and opposed him in the mayoralty race.

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In this mid-term elections, the two political families merged, and possibly with good reason. It is going to be oddly anti-climactic to make a prognosis of what could be the outcome of the alliance, despite what pundits are currently saying that the two political marquee players are unbeatable this year. That's debatable, I concede.

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Let's get deeper into the political history of the Nepomucenos and the Lazatins for better understanding.

It was after World War II when then President Manuel Roxas asked Antonio Lazatin, brother of Rafael, to be the municipal mayor of Angeles but he refused. Instead Roxas pressured Rafael, whose real passion was agriculture, into becoming the mayor. Rafael, called by many as Apung Feleng, submitted himself to President Roxas's wish.

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In those early years, the governor of Pampanga was Urbano Dizon, the known politicians in the province were Emilio Cortez of Sta. Ana, Jose B. Lingad of Lubao, Luis Taruc of San Luis, Amado Yuzon of Guagua. Eligio Lagman and Jose Fausto who became congressmen, also came later.

In those years, the province had only two congressional districts, the first and second and the railroad track was the demarcation line that separated the two. Taruc represented the 2nd District, while Yuzon was congressman of the second district.
There was no vice governor yet during those times, but there is a provincial board member representing each district. Lazatin was the board member representing the 1st District.

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Meanwhile, Francisco G. Nepomuceno started his political career as a member of the municipal council of Angeles when Manuel Abad Santos, another colorful political figure, was the town mayor.

In 1954 he moved his residence to the adjacent town of Porac, hometown of his wife Juanita Cuyugan Lumanlan. It was also in that same year he was elected provincial board member. Just two years at the Capitol, he vied for the representation of the first congressional district and won handily.

At the time that Nepomuceno was in Congress, Rafael Lazatin was elected governor, defeating in a heated election campaign Jose B. Lingad.

(In the second part we continue the battle for governorship between incumbent Dizon, Cortez and Lingad, and the political battles both Nepomuceno and Lazatin endured until 1988)