Angara scion’s loss in Aurora polls blamed on betrayal

BALER, Aurora – A major political re-alignment is expected in the province, following the defeat of a scion of the powerful Angara clan in the last elections, which was blamed on “betrayals” by partymates from the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, who  was re-elected to a second term with a landslide victory over her rival, said she would discuss the party’s next move with his nephew, re-elected Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara in view of reports that her running mate and nephew, Rommel Angara, was dumped by their own allies, which resulted in the  victory of the latter’s rival, Vice Gov. Gerardo Noveras.

Angara-Castillo, LDP provincial chairman, has scheduled a one-on-one meeting with the congressman to discuss the fate of some leaders of the LDP who were accused of junking Rommel.

The meeting would take place when the lawmaker arrived from a brief vacation abroad.

Angara-Castillo admitted that she was still smarting from the loss suffered by Rommel, the anointed candidate of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). “It hurts that while I was able to help other people win, my own nephew lost,” she said, adding that Rommel took the loss in stride and was even in high spirits.

Angara-Castillo breezed through the elections to win a second term by beating Ruben Tud dela Cruz by over 36,000 votes. Other Angaras who won were Sen. Edgardo Angara, who topped the senatorial elections in the province, Rep. Angara who ran unopposed, and Baler Mayor Arthur Angara who won another term.

Rommel lost to Noveras by 1,800 votes. He lost heavily in Noveras’ hometown Ma. Aurora by some 4,000 votes.

A source told The STAR that Angara-Castillo has been fuming mad over the junking of Rommel by Vice Gov. Annabel Tangson, who was elected mayor of San Luis. Tangson is the elder sister of outgoing three-term mayor Mariano Tangson, who was elected provincial board member. 

The Tangsons allegedly forged a tactical alliance with Noveras, younger brother of the governor’s former ally, ex vice governor Isaac Noveras.

The political re-alignment could lead to a bitter parting of ways between Angara-Castillo and Tangson whose tandem ended the decades-old reign of the clan of former three-term governor Edgardo Ong in the 2004 elections.

Shortly after their victory, the two top provincial officials reportedly had a gap but took it in stride and behaved professionally in front of their constituents.