THERE are always combinations in life and in human pursuit. In politics, it is a combination of many. You have to have money, and it is the most basic. Better if you have so much of it. A name recall like your grandfather or father was once upon a time public servants, popular in other ways like being in movies, radio or television.
In a big city like Angeles where there are more or less two hundred thousand registered voters and still counting. there is likely a big race among those who wanted to land in the first ten spots in the council race. (At this point, the tandem Pogi Lazatin-Vicky Cabigting will win the mayoral and vice mayoral race if elections will be held today). And in the council race in order to be in the cut, effort to draw public attention is really necessary.
Let’s journey back to 2013. One combination that clicked in the 2013 elections was the Pami group. It was composed of Edu Pamintuan, son of former Mayor Ed Pamintuan, Jericho Genaskey Aguas, Maricel Morales, the pretty actress and Alex Indiongco owner of the Funeraria Indiongco. The acronym was taken from the first letter of their family names. It proved to be effective. They all won in 2013 and got big chunks of votes.
Maricel Morales was on her last term and had to take a three-year respite in politics though not in entertainment business. She appeared on some telenovelas. Morales was temporarily out in 2016 elections. There’s a clamor for her to stage a comeback in the forthcoming 2022 elections—the same clamor for Bryan Nepomuceno and Edu Pamintuan to run in the forthcoming race. (What about me? No clamor.)
In the 2016 elections, there were 24 who were in the council race. I was in the 11th spot and failed to be in the win column. Maybe because there were three Sangils in that race. There must be some confusion among some voters. Barangay Pulong Cacutud Tony Trinidad, Amsic Barangay Captain Gerom Pamintuan Costales and myself failed to make the cut.
Politics involves marketing. Tarpaulins are commonly used. But there are also other channels. Candidates are sending their messages via tarpaulins which are posted on strategic locations. And this has to be supported by house-to-house campaigns but the Commission on Elections may prohibit such because of the pandemic. Caucuses or meetings and maximizing technology via mostly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber are the alternatives. Television and commentary programs on prime-time radio are still very useful in reaching the grassroots.
In any case, the former outstanding councilors like Morales, Nepomuceno and Pamintuan will decide to join the council race, it will be interesting to watch who among the incumbents will be affected. Presently the newcomers in the Angeles City council are JC Parker, Thelma Indiongco, Rako Del Rosario and Niknok Baniola.