MAYORS come and go. They start their political careers and time will end it. Life is so fragile. No one can escape in kicking the bucket, sooner or later. Each one of us wants to leave a lasting legacy. It is not the legacy which is like a will or a testament that you leave behind for the family to inherit. I am referring to the legacy which you will be long remembered. The question is: How do you want to be remembered? Not that you amassed wealth while in office and bought real properties left and right and have stashed cash in several banks. Or you want to be remembered because you changed and touched many lives.
Let’s journey back in time. One of the less controversial mayors during his time at the municipio was the late Mayor Fred Halili. He was darling of the local media. In his youth he struggled to help his less privileged family. He worked as a barracks boy at nearby Clark Air Force and continued his studies after work. He run as vice mayor in tandem with Mayor Emiliano Candelaria. He won and the latter lost. This was in 1971. The winning mayor was Ben Fernandez. It was Hallli’s fate to be one of Mabalacat’s long serving town executive. It was only two months in office when Fernandez was felled by an assassin bullets. He served well the constituency. He was only sidelined when Cory Aquino became president in 1986 and was relieved by John Santos. But in elections of 1988 he reclaimed the mayorship by winning against Santos and lawyer Adelaido Rivera.
One of the most controversial mayors in the eighties was Arayat Mayor Benny Espino. He escaped death many times. He was ambushed few times by unknown assassins .He lived a colorful life. He had a booming voice that complimented his large frame. Yet he was kind, nice, gentle and very generous even to non-friends. He was a gentle giant of a man who asserted himself in a town which was center of many unrest. He prevailed in many elections. The townspeople loved him. Twice undergoing heart bypass and died few years later from myocardial infarction.
My cousin Ceferino “Ninong” Lumanlan of Porac was assassinated while campaigning in Barangay Sta. Cruz. He was an architect and started a construction business. It was during his time that big time quarry operations in the town started and it became a multi- million industry. It’s now a good source of revenue for the province. Another controversial mayor in the seventies and eighties was the late Mayor Armando P. Biliwang of San Fernando. He formed the Barangay Self Defense Unit (BSDU), a group that declared war against the dissident movement. Dondoy as he was called by kins and friends was a very charitable and a friendly person. He died a pauper and after his term he struggled looking for money to pay his power bills.
There were less controversial mayors in the province but were embraced by electorates not because of their achievements but were caring and always ready to lend helping hands, so generous and dig on their own pockets to those who seek assistance. I remember the late Sta. Rita Mayor Frank Ocampo, a simple fellow whose dark complexion and ready smile for everyone identified himself to the masses. The same thing can be said of the late Apalit Mayor Romy Pamintuan who in his last days I often shared coffee in one of those food chains in a mall in San Fernando. He was so proud in telling everyone that he entered politics a moneyed man and he made an exit ten times poorer.
In Angeles City, there are seven colorful mayors I remember who already passed away but they had their own memorable years during their stints. Among them are Manuel Abad Santos, his son Antonio aka Bubusok, Rafael Del Rosario Sr., Rafael L.Lazatin, his son Carmelo aka Tarzan, Eugenio N. Suarez and Francisco G. Nepomuceno.