THE camp of comebacking Mayor Rodrigo “Digos” Canlas and outgoing mayor and vice-mayoralty aspirant Leonora Wong said they are unfazed by Fourth District Representative Juan Pablo “Rimpy” Bondoc’s endorsement of their rival Abundio “Jun” Punsalan Jr.
Wong told Sun.Star Pampanga through a text message that she does not feel threatened by the endorsement and support aired by Bondoc, a five-termer congressman and scion of an influential Kapampangan family, for Punsalan.
“I am not threatened. Nobody will even listen to him here because he does not live in San Simon nor does he hail from any of our barangays,” said Wong, who is serving her third term as mayor and endorsing her predecessor Canlas.
Wong added that she already defeated Bondoc in the past three elections after he endorsed then mayoralty candidate Teodora “Baby” Dalisay in 2010, former mayor and then mayoralty Manuel Bondoc in 2013, and the late former Association of Barangay Captains president Sonny Simbulan in 2016.
Wong defeated all three candidates to become mayor in the last eight years.
“I love the people of San Simon and in return, they also loved and supported me. And Rimpy (Bondoc) cannot break that love and support that I built in nine years,” Wong said.
Meanwhile, Wong also criticized the platform and proposed projects of Punsalan should he secure the mayoralty seat in the coming May 2019 polls.
Particularly, Wong questioned the supposed 50-bed community hospital with dialysis center, and the ambulance per barangay promised by Punsalan in his public speech and media interviews.
“My only question is where will he get the budget for the construction of a hospital? The salaries of doctors and nurses? I hope he looked at the local budget first before he opened his mouth and made promises,” Wong said.
She also lambasted Punsalan for his statement about the “broken commitment” of industrial plants in Quezon Road to provide employment to Simonians saying: “Ask the workers there, most of them are Simonians. Better yet ask your own ka-barrios in San Miguel, more than 100 are working on the factories there.”
She also told Punsalan that livelihood trainings are already continuously conducted in the Alternative Learning Center in San Jose Elementary School and his proposal to construct a Tesda building is unnecessary.
On Punsalan’s vow to address flooding in their hometown, Wong asked: “What will be your solution? You cannot just say you will resolve it without stating the actions and the project that you will effectively implement.”
Wong also told Punsalan that most of the projects that he is promising are already implemented by the local government such as the burial and other assistance for indigent Simonians, sports programs for the youth, and development in agriculture for the benefit of the local farmers.
She reminded that San Simon has been recognized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government through the Seal of Good Housekeeping award since 2011, and the Seal of Good Local Governance until this year for the excellent delivery of public service.
“Simonians are wise voters. They will vote those who they think are deserving and are efficient in leading them and San Simon to a more developed town,” Wong said.