State of Local Politics in Pangasinan

1. The Political Players

a.) Former Governor Victor Aguedo E. Agbayani (1998 – 2004)
– was born on December 16, 1957 in Quezon City, Manila and was the son of the late
former governor of Pangasinan, Victor F. Agbayani. He finished both his elementary and secondary
(1975) education from the Ateneo de Manila University and achieved his Bachelor of Science degree
in Civil Engineering from the University of the Philippines, Diliman as well as his license as a civil
engineer in 1982 and obtained his Master's Degree in Business Administration in 1987 from the same
university.
He served as assistant secretary to his father at the provincial government of Pangasinan.
A year after he became a member of the parliament from 1984 to 1986. In 1995, he ran and was
elected as Vice-Governor of the province at the same time the national President of the League of
Vice Governors of the Philippines until 1998. Afterwards, he ran for the gubernatorial post and won.
He served as the Assistant Secretary General of the League of Provinces of the Philippines and served
with the same dedication, as his father, until 2007, after having completed the three-term period. In
the last May 2007 Election, he was voted to represent the 2nd District of their province to the 14th
Congress of the Philippines while his wife, Dr. Jamie Eloisa Manzano-Agbayani, ran for the
gubernatorial position but lost to former 2nd District Representative Amado T. Espino Jr.
b.) Governor Amado T. Espino Jr. (2007 – present)
– was born on June 20, 1948 in Bautista, Pangasinan. He finished his elementary
education at Bautista Central School in 1960 and his secondary education at the Bayambang National
High School in 1966. In 1972, he earned the degree of Bachelor of Science in the Philippine Military
Academy and obtained a degree in Masters in Development Management in 1996 at Pangasinan State
University.
As a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, he was assigned to various positions
throughout Luzon, from 1972 – 1998, like Intel Operations Officer, Company Commander, Narcotics
Regional Chief, CIS District Commander, Chief Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director and
Provincial Director. From 2001 to 2007 he was the district representative of Pangasinan and then he
ran for the gubernatorial position in the 2007 elections where he won against the wife of former
governor Victor Aguedo E. Agbayani and has served 2 terms since.
 *An existence of a political dynasty has been found in connection to the current governor of
Pangasinan, Amado T. Espino Jr., and is presented below:
Name Position held Location Year/s Served Relationship

Amado T. Espino III Mayor Bautista, 2004 – Present Son

Pangasinan
Jose T. Espino Vice – Mayor Bautista, 2001 – Present Brother
Pangasinan
Amadeo T. Espino Liga ng mga Pangasinan July 2003 – Present Brother
Barangay President
Cezar T. Espino President San Carlos City, January 2012 Brother
Pangasinan
2. Political Affiliations

Candidate/Election Year 2001 2004 2007 2010

Amado T. Espino Jr. Lakas – NUCD - NPC Lakas – Kampi - Lakas – Kampi -
UMDP CMD CMD

Victor Aguedo E. Lakas - CMD Lakas - CMD Lakas - CMD Liberal Party
Agbayani

It is a common sight to see politicians switching from one party to another; sometimes they would
switch to their opponent’s group before the elections then come back to their original party after. Sure
there are several people whose loyalty is unquestioned when it comes to their support for their party
especially the ones who have been winning consecutively but what if suddenly they lost to a growing
dominant party?
It can be hypothesized that their movement was based on which party was handling the
administration at that time and also which one was dominant. In 2001 to 2007, Lakas-Kampi-CMD,
which was lead by the Arroyo administration, was dominant in several provinces throughout the
Philippines but come 2010 their members suddenly switched to the Liberal Party and its alliances (NPC
and NP). These are several reasons why Espino and Agbayani decided to move:

Espino said the exodus of politicians belonging to the Lakas party to NPC is a concrete way of support to the
administration of Aquino, one of the stalwarts of the Liberal Party.
“NPC was my original party. I left the party temporarily when its founding chairman, Ambassador Eduardo
‘Danding’ Cojuangco, became inactive,” he said.
“The NPC, he said, has a fraternal bond with the aspirations of Aquino to improve the lives of Filipinos.”
-From (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/182545/pangasinan-pols-quit-arroyo-party-return-to-danding-cojuangco)
 Probably sensing that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and imminent administration presidential bet
Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. would not be potent forces in the 2010 elections, members of ruling party
Lakas-Kampi (Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino)-CMD started shifting allegiances to rival parties.
According to a political analyst, the move is expected to firm up the presidential bid of Senator Benigno
“Noynoy" Aquino III and Senator Manuel Villar Jr. of the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party (NP), where
Lakas members transferred.
-From (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/176529/news/nation/sensing-defeat-in-2010-polls-allies-leave-arroyo-s-party)

Without naming the candidates, President Benigno Aquino on Thursday said the 2013 senatorial lineup of the
administration coalition of the Liberal Party (LP), Nacionalista Party (NP) and Nationalist People’s Coalition
(NPC) was complete.
He said coalition officials were just ironing out a few kinks, particularly in the selection of official candidates in
the local levels.
“There will be conflicts in a coalition when it comes to the lower levels, particularly in the local government
units. Inevitably, we will have areas which will be contentious,” said Mr. Aquino.
“I think all parties to the coalition recognize that. But the goal is to have a unified ticket,” he added.
-From (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/241807/administration-coalition-of-lp-np-npc-a-done-deal-says-aquino)

Judging from the statements/ reports from news sources, it can be proven that the hypothesis was
correct and that they move from party to party because of the growing influences that the ruling the party
has been showing and also the party that the ruling administration belongs that seems to be expanding its
reaches in order to get support from different regions of the country via a coalition.

3. Political Rivalries
Not much has been said about the rivalry between the two major candidates for the gubernatorial
position, Amado T. Espino Jr. and Victor Aguedo E. Agbayani. Though there undocumented reports
stating conflicts happening between their supporters and campaigners during the pre and post election
days. Yet, there was a news report stating an attempt of Agbayani’s wife, Jamie Eloisa Manzano-
Agbayani, to inherit his seat as governor during his campaign for the position of 2 nd district
representative. But the attempt failed when she lost to Espino which made 2007 the start of his first term.
And in the 2010 elections, Agbayani decided take back his place as governor but didn’t succeed thus
breaking his winning streak and giving Espino his 2nd term. Other than that, these are the only two major
candidate fighting for the said position because of the wealth they possess, Espino being a major
stockholder in construction companies in their hometown and Agbayani being a huge landowner in places
in Pangasinan, and the various political connections they have or the reputation that has been developed
by past relatives.
But one of the good examples of a major rivalry that is happening in the province is in the
mayoralty positions, namely Alipio Fernandez and Benjamin Saplan Lim. These two have become major
rivals since Fernandez’ first lost in his political career by a few votes against Lim. This started a series of
campaign posters of Lim being torn off in various places in Dagupan City by Fernandez’ supporters or
vice versa, major criticisms flying around about this and that from the other side, and in one instance, the
two camps chanced upon each other possessing firearms which lead to harassment and intimidation
during the encounter. Then again, these two are wealthy and powerful people much like our two
gubernatorial candidates with Lim owning the Magic Group of Companies and Fernandez and his family
being an owner of various businesses such as HTF Lending Corp., Inn Asia Hotel, and EDF Home
Developers.

4. Election Related Issues or Violence

Violence is prominent during the course of the elections and that it is a common scene during
these days to see the campaigners and supporters of the political candidates fighting each other over torn
off posters, false accusations directed to one another, and, in special cases, firing of guns are rumored to
have happened in some places. In Pangasinan, election related violence isn’t a new happening and that it
can be heard or seen through local news during these days. Citing a part of the aforementioned
information in the Political Rivalries section, there has been no documentation of conflicts happening
between the supporters and campaigners of Espino and Agabayani in their run for the gubernatorial
position because those may be just minor fights that are resolved quickly without the intervention of the
local police.
5. Other relevant information
Issues pertaining to the current governor have been found in the local news stating his
involvement in illegal mining actions in Lingayen, Pangasinan. Citing the news article from the
Philippine Daily Inquirer in January 31, 2012 by Leila B. Salaverria entitled “Governor sued on black
sand mining”, Village officials and the residents of Lingayen, Pangasinan have filed a complaint against
Governor Amado T. Espino Jr. and other officials for allegedly allowing Alexandra Mining and Oil
Venture (AMOV) and Xypher Builder Inc. (XBI) to mine for black sand in the said province. It was
stated in the article that the Mining and Geosciences Burea (MGB) found a permit for a small scale
mining issued by the governor to AMOV despite its lack of an environmental certificate of compliance
and clearance from MGB. Though Espino’s letter to MGB stated that there was no quarrying ongoing in
the province, it was contrary to the permit he issued to AMOV.
 Another issue is the proliferation of illegal gambling such as “jueteng” and “video karera”. Citing
an article found in the Manila Times which was published on December 14, 2011 by Erwin Tulfo entitled
“Holiday Open Season for illegal gambling”, illegal gambling has been prevalent in the provinces of
Pangasinan and Pampanga and widely active during the holiday seasons due to a poor Christmas budget
received by a majority of citizens, especially those of a lower class. In the article, Tulfo directed his
attention to Governor Amado T. Espino Jr., stating that even though the governor knew what was going
on in the province, there has been no action to react to this growing problem. The reason for this was that
Espino and Provincial Police Office director Sr. Supt. Rosueto Ricaforte were making a profit in these
illegal gambling sites while protecting them as well.

Submitted by:
Nicanor D. Germono Jr.
Albert Alemania
Victor Julius P. Dawis