Local PPC bets losing in Tarlac

TARLAC CITY — The entire slate of the administration’s People Power Coalition (PPC) is miserably losing in this home-province of former President Corazon Aquino to the party backed by her estranged cousin, former Marcos crony Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr.

In the gubernatorial race alone, initial tallies by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed that the PPC-Lakas-NUCD gubernatorial aspirant, Vice Gov. Herminio Aquino, was performing a poor third in the three-cornered political battle.

Slugging it out in the gubernatorial race are re-electionist Gov. Jose Yap Sr., backed by the Danding-controlled Sama-Sama sa Tarlac-Nationalist People’s Coalition (SST-NPC), and this city’s Mayor Gelacio Manalang of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Third Force (Laban-Third Force).

Manalang is being backed by Mrs. Aquino’s estranged brother-in-law, Makati Rep. Agapito Butz Aquino, who is the secretary-general of Laban.

In this city, councilor Arsenio Luray II of the PPC-Liberal Party has remained in the third slot in the six-cornered mayoral race.

The other leading contender for the mayoral seat here is independent candidate, former board member Genaro Mendoza, whose candidacy was even openly shunned before voters here by Mrs. Aquino and her only son, re-electionist Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.

Tailing Mendoza by a very wide margin of more than 10,000 votes was board member Joji David of the Laban-Third Force. Lagging behind in initial Comelec tallies were Vice Mayor Ponciano Noel Soliman III (SST-NPC), and independent candidates, former city administrator Filoteo Gozum, businessman Antonio Agustin and a certain Eliseo Gomez.

In the town of Gerona, the entire slate of the SST-PPC, led by re-electionist Mayor Harmes Sembrano, has been leaving behind the PPC-Liberal ticket headed by former Mayor Susan Go.

A similar situation is being suffered by the administration in Yap’s hometown of Victoria, where the mayoral seat is being contested by re-electionist Emmanuel Guiam (SST-NPC) and former Mayor Regidor Villa Agustin (PPC-Liberal).

PPC-backed candidates are also having a hard time catching up with candidates whom Danding had supported in other major towns such as La Paz, Concepcion, Capas, Bamban, Camiling, San Jose and Sta. Ignacia.

The PPC’s setbacks in the province surprised local observers, noting that Mrs. Aquino even personally campaigned for the administration’s candidates by going from one house to another.