REP. JOSON EYES GOV. UMALI'S POST
Magtanggol Vilar
FROM : MAGTANGGOL C. VILAR – correspondent – SUNDAY, 29 MARCH 2009 Email -mac...@mozcom.com Tel. No. Res. : 044-464-5954/cell: 0918718050
PALAYAN CITY – Now, the plan of the Joson family’s vaunted candidate to beat incumbent Gov. Aurelio “Oyie” Matias Umali is out. That man is incumbent 1st District Rep. Eduardo Nonato “Edno” Joson, considered an “accidental” Governor of Nueva Ecija, who substituted in 1995-1998 for elder brother ex-Gov. Tomas, who was imprisoned together with younger brod Mariano Cristino on suspicion of the murder of Cabanatuan city Mayor Honorato Perez. They were later acquitted of the charges. Rep. Edno’s running mate is reportedly incumbent Vice-Governor Thomas Edward. They are both from the Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija or BALANE. Admitting the victory of Umali at the 2004 polls, Rep. Edno Joson nevertheless claims that victory was but a “fluke” or “tsamba.” That allegation must have been based on the sentiment of the time that whoever allied with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was a doomed candidate. Umali’s landslide victory ended the hold of the Josons at the post of governor for at least 49 years. At the moment, the big task facing Umali is his choice of his vice-governor. There are at least four likely vice-gov candidates tugging along Umali’s coat-tails. There’s lawyer Edmund R. Abesamis, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Member, representing the province’s Leage of Barangay Captains, from Peñaranda. He is from the 4th District of Nueva Ecija He comprises a vital leg of the Abesamis Triangle in Umali’s inner circle; the other two are Provincial Legal Officer and concurrent Provincial Administrator Atty. Alejandro R. Abesamis, and Atty. Ferdinand R. Abesamis, an Umali Consultant. Jose “Popoy” Taruc V, a Director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and resident of Gapan City. He was vice-governor for Umali in the 2007 elections, who was bested by the incumbent Vice-Gov. Edward Thomas Joson. He is son of popular AM radio guru commentator Joe Taruc. Then, there is Joseph Ortiz, Board Member, representing the 2nd District of Nueva Ecija, and resident of San Jose City. Doc Anthony Matias Umali, younger brother of the Governor is also being tapped for the post. And Cabanatuan City Mayor Alvin P. Vergara, the most formidable vice-gubernatorial candidate for Umali. Political analysts rate Vergara as a vote-rich potential. The Josons have not won the vote-rich city in recent elections. Recall is made that ex-Gov. Tomas Joson met his huge election downfall at the hands of the “lowly electrian” candidate for mayor, none other than the incumbent Alvin P. Vergara, who before he ran for office headed the powerful Cabanatuan City Electric Corp. (CELCOR). Analysts say, you get by your side Alvin and you get the power-packed Vergara tandem of Jay and Alvin. Recall is made here that Jay and Alvin on one side, and then Cong. Umali and wife Cherry (then running for the 3rd congressional district of Nueva Ecija) on the other hand, had an alignment of forces. So, they all ran under the Lakas-CMD. Besides, it was also held, that the moneyed Vergaras would not be such a heavy burden to carry through to the 2010 elections. It is reasoned out that Umali’s man should be capable of producing heavy votes, and should be a man of his own, meaning he should be able to finance his way through the entire contest. This way, Umali could concentrate his finances on his own fight. And it would surely be the fight of his life, if only to prove that his 2007 victory was no fluke. But, whatever, Umali is hell-bent to prove that he won the post on the basis of his platform of government that called for “change” and progress and good governance. At any rate, Umali would be running on the merits of his accomplishments done in the past 21 months of his watch. He is paying off, slowly but surely, the P1.2 billion debts incurred by the past administration, among which are premium payments for GSIS, Philhealth and Pag-Ibig plan holders, and scholarship debts. Umali has put up a lot of infrastructure projects notwithstanding the loss of 25 heavy road-building equipment owned by the province, which the past dispensation farmed out to their crony mayors. The employees have been given allowances denied them for so many years. Like it or not, Umali’s administration, be it plagued with graft and corruption hoopla, as it was in the past, had somehow managed to turn up what the past Joson administration failed to produce. Umali has managed to turn up with a lot of unpaid property taxes from the Casecnan project to the tune of some P1.2 billion. That’s a lot of money dug up by Umali. That’s not loose change. That could be used to make some big changes in the growth and development of the province. How true is the report that the Josons had commissioned a survey and it turned out the Joson patriarchs are goners, reason why they are now floating the name of the sweet image of their long-ignored sibling Edno. Check this out, inside sources are saying that the 1st District representative would run with no other Joson on his ticket. Truth or consequence, this is an internal matter that is best left to the family, so the observers say. – MAGTANGGOL C. VILAR |
homer teodoro
| Sir Mags, pwede ko siya reprint article mo for Tarlac Review. Thanks po. --- On Sun, 3/29/09, Magtanggol Vilar <macv...@yahoo.com> wrote: |
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