Sangil: Some stories about Pampanga mayors

HEADS up. A new shuffle of the deck. Angeles City Hall have new tenants. They are mostly young people but are learned and focused. Willing to work extra hours in pursuit of efficient and effective public service. Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. is being lauded for his style of governance. Each day and each morning, since he is an early riser, he makes visits to barangays bringing medicines and gives some cash to the sick particularly the elderly. Then proceed to his office to meet visitors and sign papers.

He never forgets to send cakes to government workers on their birthdays. That he has been doing even he wasn’t yet the mayor. Helping him in his daily tasks are mostly known Lazatin’s loyalists, the likes of high caliber lawyer Willie Rivera as administrator, the mayor’s daughter Atty. Kercee and super adviser Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Deputy Director I.C. Calaguas. Currently, I can bet Pogi Lazatin’s approval rating if measured will be definitely high. I am getting feedback from several sectors.

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Yesterday, the banner story of this paper was about Guagua Mayor Dante Torres who was cleared of the malversation charge against him. It was described as a triple victory as he was at the same time cleared of two other charges. Torres broke down to tears as the Sandiganbayan’s second division clerk was reading the decision clearing him.

I have known Dante since the eighties when he was still a manager of a pre-need company. I know him to be humble, a man with simple taste. For the record, he is one the Pampanga Mayors who got slapped with sect suspensions while in office. But he always emerged winners in every election contest despite those charges brought against him in court.

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He was known more in his hometown of Magalang as Roels, more than his real name. In year 2007, when news spread that he will run for mayor against the popular and well entrenched Mayor Lyndon Cunanan,and the common question among the electorates was, Ninung Romy (Romy who)? I was Vice President and he was president in the Rotary Club of Angeles when he was drawing plans of entering Magalang politics. He won the elections but was able to occupy the mayoral seat only in 2009 when his electoral protest proclaimed him winner against Cunanan. It was a smooth sail in his reelection bid in 2010 and breezed through again in 2013. And since the first term was an incomplete term he still eligible for his last reelection. He lost in his last outing against Malou Paras Lacson by a slim margin. He vowed to make a comeback this coming local elections. And he won by the skin his teeth, by only 27 votes.

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I seldom see now Mabalacat City Mayor Cris Garbo and what I read based on what were published in some of the weeklies in Pampanga, he is a busybody doing what a chief executive should do. He wants to prove to his constituency that he is worth their votes. Once, that was some weeks ago, I had a minute conversation with him in a social function at Royce Hotel and said he is making sure now that the city funds are spent correctly and wisely. Hopefully he is really striving to be a better person and an elected leader since he became what we know as “born again Christian”.

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In my future columns I will attempt to tell more stories about Pampanga mayors, the likes of Teddy Tumang of Mexico, Rene Maglanque of Candaba, Jing Capil of Porac and Diman Datu of Bacolor for a start. I will invite them for coffee and sip the Japanese sumiyaki brew with the perfect ambiance to match at Cafe Mesa in Clark Freeport. Coffee doesn’t cost much there.