Contour of 2019 polls takes shape in Angeles

• Source: http://punto.com.ph/contour-of-2019-polls-takes-shape-in-angeles/
• Monday, July 9, 2018

By Ding Cervantes

ANGELES CITY–The contour of the 2019 mayoral elections in this chartered city has taken form, as Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, already in his third and last term, announced plans to run either for congressman or senator.

This, amid reports from local politicians that his former chief of staff Alexander Cauguiran, veteran politician Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin, and former councilor Irineo Alvaro would seek to replace him.

Cauguiran is now the acting president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) while Lazatin, an octogenarian who had been mayor and congressman for several terms in the past, was elected chairman of commercial Barangay Balibago in the last polls.

On the other hand, Alvaro had served several terms as city councilor and is now president and chief executive officer of BBI, the corporate entity behind upscale Midori Hotel and Casino, water-theme park Aqua Planet, and Eaglesky at the Clark Freeport.

Cauiguiran had already announced his mayoral plans, while Lazatin and Alvaro have yet to announce theirs.

Cauguiran will reportedly have incumbent Vice Mayor Bryan Nepomuceno as running mate, while Lazatin will have former vice mayor Vicky Vega. Alvaro has yet to give hint on who could me his running mate.

In a statement last week, Pamintuan announced his “plans to run for Congress in 2019 to ensure the completion of more than a billion worth of projects for the city that he was able to get approvals for from the national government.”

“I will not leave you,” declared Pamintuan, during a meeting with newly-elected barangay offi cials. He said he will seek “higher national position as congressman, or even a senator, in the 2019 elections.”

Pamintuan cited his accomplished projects worth P1. 5 billion, including the ₱236-million NLEX-SCTEx Connecting Road (Abacan Expressway) in support to the furniture, ITBPO, hotels, garments and textile industries of Angeles City; the ₱66-million widening of the Philippine Export Zone Road and construction of road connecting Angeles-Magalang Road to East Circumferential Road; the ₱103-million improvement of Zeppelin Street and Clark Perimeter Road; the ₱212-million construction of Angeles City Toll Exit connecting NLEx and SCTEx.

He also cited the ₱67.9-million improvement and construction of road connecting West Circumferential Road to East Mega Dike and the ₱644-million construction of East Circumferential Road connecting MacArthur Highway to Angeles Magalang Road.

Pamintuan, who was the 2012 Top 8 World Mayor, also announced projects he wants done, including a new 5-storey city hall with a sports complex and a 2-storey steel parking building; the acquisition of heavy equipment for the city engineering office; 33 dumptrucks; vehicles for the city government and the Philippine National Police; and the installation of 1,000 units of LED streetlights in the city.

“I would like to see through the completion of these projects, and work for better representation of the city in Congress in the face of the expected onslaught of development centered on the Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark International Airport,” he said.

“I will not leave Angeles City until these projects are completed. All roads lead to Clark and its environs insofar as development is concerned,” Pamintuan said.

Pamintuan stressed “the need for progressive and forward- looking local leadership,” urging barangay officials to “think big and out of the box.”

During the meeting, Cauguiran lauded the decision of Pamintuan to continue serving city folk.