In smallest Pangasinan town, all bets are unchallenged

STO. TOMAS, Pangasinan — Here’s one for the books: In this municipality, the province’s smallest, all candidates, from the mayor to the coun-cilors, are running unopposed.

This has been the case in the mayoral race in the past seven years, too.

Veronica Tabelin, the local election registrar, said running unopposed are Vivien Villar for mayor; Wilfredo Pescador for vice mayor; and Timoteo Villar III, Lydia Manzano, Lita Judan, Gaudencio Ordoño and Renato Casco, all re-electionists, and Donald Siesmundo, Jun Noces and Ely Ramos, for councilors. They are all running under the banner of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Villar is the wife of incumbent mayor Antonio Villar Jr. who has served this town since 1972. She herself had served as mayor for three consecutive terms.

Pescador is also a re-electionist.

Although the municipal councilor bets are unchallenged, they still have to campaign for their ranking, Tabelin said.

Earlier, Mayor Villar informed his constituents about the holding of a convention to determine who would be running for the three slots in the municipal council that would be vacated by last-termers.

Officials of the town’s 10 barangays then began scouting for interested candidates. The townsfolk also welcomed Villar’s move.

The assembly was held last Dec. 27, participated in by about 200 delegates, including former and incumbent municipal officials and barangay captains.

Six vied for the three vacant council slots. A secret balloting capped the event, supervised by the local Commission on Elections office, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Sangguniang Bayan secretariat.

All six aspirants were asked to sign an agreement that should they lose in the balloting, they would not run in the May 10 polls.

On Dec. 29, all candidates submitted their certificates of candidacy.