Pampanga Mayors' League challenges David to run for Congress

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – The spokesman of the Pampanga Mayors’ League challenged yesterday professor Randy David to categorically declare his candidacy for the second district of Pampanga regardless of whether President Arroyo will seek the same post in next year’s elections.

“It’s not an acceptable premise for him to base his candidacy solely on his anger with the President,” Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo told The Star yesterday.

Pelayo lamented David’s declaration that he would run only if the President would also run for congress in Pampanga’s second district.

David is from Guagua while the President is from Lubao, both within Pampanga’s second district where presidential son Rep. Mikey Arroyo is on his second term as congressman. The latter earlier said he would instead run for governor should his mother opt to seek his post in the polls next year.

Pelayo described David as a “friend” and that he is “qualified” to be congressman. “But apart from his anger, he should also present his plans on how to help constituents in the second district,” he added.

“As it is, his motive seems too personal against the President, and not really to serve the people as congressman,” he said.

This, amid reports that Gov. Eddie Panlilio, who is also from Guagua in the second district, will support David if the latter runs for congressman.

In an earlier interview, Panlilio said that somebody else was being prodded to run against the President for the congressional seat in the district even before David announced his plan.

Panlilio said that the person who he declined to identify was willing to give way to David. He also said earlier he would back a candidate against the President should the latter seek the congressional post in the second district.

Statistics of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revealed that the President’s Lubao hometown has 74,815 voters as against Guagua’s 57,575.

The other four towns in the second district are Floridablanca with 48,521 voters, Porac with 47,977 voters, Sta. Rita with 21,870 voters, and Sasmuan with 20,002 voters.

President favored

Local political observers also noted that the President would be favored by the fact that Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda is the president of the Pampanga Mayors’ League and his wife Yolanda being mayor of Sta. Rita.

Additionally, if elected in the next year’s polls, University of the Philippines professor David will continue to teach, this time in Congress.

He said even congressmen do not understand the functions and nature of a legislator’s job.

“Marami ang hindi nakakaunawa na dapat nilang katawanin ang damdamin ng kanilang constituent sa mas malawak na arena ng diskurso,” David said in an interview on Saturday.

A sociologist, David vowed to run against the President if she decides to run as congressional representative of the second district of Pampanga.

Arroyo’s allies in Pampanga have long insinuated the possibilities that she will run for a congressional seat in the next year’s polls as evidenced by her series of visits in the province.