Abad’s wife aspires to be his successor

BASCO, Batanes — After almost a year of guessing, the question as to who would succeed outgoing Rep. Florencio "Butch" Abad has finally been settled.

Abad’s wife, the for-mer Dina Razon, who until lately was the dean of the Ateneo University School of Government, filed last Monday her certificate of candidacy for the province’s lone congressional district at the Comelec provincial office here.

Mrs. Abad was accompanied by her supporters and Rep. Abad, the national president of the Liberal Party (LP) who is on his third and final term as Batanes congressman.

Until she filed her candidacy, the Batanes folk were left guessing as to who Rep. Abad would anoint as his successor.

For a while, his older brother, Nicanor, a United States-based civil engineer, was rumored to be interested in the House seat that used to be occupied by their late father, former Public Works and Highways Secretary Jorge Abad, and by their late mother, Aurora.

According to reports, Rep. Abad was able to dissuade his brother from dividing their legions of supporters.

Former Gov. Telesforo Castillejos is expected to challenge Mrs. Abad’s candidacy.

However, with the LP’s political machinery and resources solidly behind Mrs. Abad, the results of the Batanes congressional race, political observers believe, is a foregone conclusion.

At the helm of the provincial political leadership are LP stalwarts Gov. Vicente Gato and Vice Gov. Constante Castillejos.

Seven of the nine provincial board members also belong to the LP, as do five of the six municipal mayors.

Castillejos, a three-term governor from 1988 to 1998, was resoundingly defeated by Rep. Abad in the 1998 congressional elections. Castillejos was similarly clobbered by Gato in the 2001 gubernatorial race.

Mrs. Abad, who, as an academician, never dreamt of being a politician herself, was finally prodded by the LP provincial chapter to run for Congress, following a strongly worded resolution by the five LP-member mayors.