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Eddie Pilapil |
Butch Ortega |
... winning governor and vice governor |
Former Tourism Secretary and C ongressman Eduardo Pilapil is poised to boot out incumbent Governor L-Ray Villafuerte from the Provincial Capitol via a landslide victory on election day. This was the consensus of seasoned and impartial political analysts in the province who have accurately predicted the outcome of the local polls during the last fi ve successive elections. Pilapil is expected to win in all four districts of the province and carry his vice gubernatorial candidate, youthful Atty. Butch Ortega, to a pulsating win in his fi rst attempt in politics.
The Pilapil-Ortega tandem is expected to win by a very wide margin in the first district where almost all incumbent mayors are backing the Kampi ticket. Pilapil also has the open and all-out support of Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, Jr. and presidential son Dato Arroyo who is also anticipated to win overwhelmingly.
The Pilapil-Ortega team is also going to win in the Second District with expected lopsided winner Congressman Luis R. Villafuerte and in the Fourth District where incumbent Congressmen
Felix Alfelor, Jr. who is fully backing the ticket is also a conceded runaway winner.
Pilapil is also expected to win in his own turf in the Third District even if Congressman Noli Fuentebella is reported to have aligned with Governor L-Ray Villauerte. In 1988, Pilapil beat the late Sen. Edmundo Cea in the congressional race in the district.
The issues of arrogance and gross disrespect to his own parents including several reported anomalies in provincial government transactions are “very damaging” issues which the incumbent governor has not been able to effectively counteract, analysts said.
In an interview on April 10 simultaneously aired over four radio stations Congressman Villafuerte said his son whom he is not anymore supporting has not been able to give a public accounting of funds and goods received as calamity aid since 2004 and could find himself in legal problems.
The elder Villafuerte who steered his son’s 2004 campaign was stung by the repeated open defiance by the incumbent governor of his political leadership in the province. Governor L-Ray Villafuerte was said to have also bad-mouthed his father and even his own mother on several occasions.
“Everyone in the family has been offended by L-Ray’s sudden change of behavior”, Congressman Villafuerte admitted in the interview.
Other than his “repugnant” character and behavior, Governor Villafuerte does not have a sensible accomplishment to show after three years.
“His so-called hybrid rice program is a national program of the Department of Agriculture and it is being done throughout all rice-producing provinces in the country”, Congressman Villafuerte pointed out.
“The Vita Kids feeding program is not a project of the provincial government and L-Ray is merely riding on it along with the mobile passport program which belongs to the Department of Foreign Affairs”, it was also explained.
On the other hand, L-Ray had cut the meager salaries of volunteer preschool teachers to lower than the wages of househelps, it was also cited.
The delay in the implementation of the Caramoan coastal road was also blamed on Governor Villafuerte who is said to be also responsible for having just one contractor cornering all P150 million worth of projects from the P250 million allocated by President Arroyo.
The governor had abandoned more urgent tourism development priorities including the world-class potentials of Caramoan for his Capitol Water Sports Complex which is said to have cost more than P150 million even while capitol trucks and equipment were seen hauling materials for the project even at nighttime for the project undertaken by a private contractor, this was also pointed out.
