Pacita Gonzalez announces bid for city mayoralty post in 2010
Pacita Gonzalez
Iloilo City Vice Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog may already have his 2010 mayoralty bid in mind when he chose to bend down to the wishes of Acting Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez, Sr. several weeks ago on the issue of the distribution of committee chairmanships at the Sangguniang Panlungsod. Such show of loyalty, however, may after all be for naught.
This, after Dr. Pacita Gonzalez, wife of the Acting DOJ chief and mother of incumbent Rep. Raul Gonzalez, Jr., has recently announced her planned bid for the city's top executive post, which is set to be vacated three years from now by the graduating Mayor Jerry Treñas.
In a recent interview with one of the more prominent cosmetic surgeons in the country at a plush hotel here, the former congresswoman of the second district of Zambales said the family is seriously considering fielding her as candidate for city mayor in the next elections.
"Since Mayor Treñas is now on his third and final term as mayor, I plan to seek the mayoralty seat in the next elections. Aside from the fact that I have the support of around 95% of the city's 180 barangay captains, I have solid experience in governance to back me up," said the Gonzalez matriarch.
Reminded that Mabilog, who is with the administration group, is also eyeing the mayoralty seat in the next electoral exercise, Gonzalez said the vice-mayor would have to give way to her. "Kon gusto n'ya, pwede man s'ya mag-vice mayor sa akon para di maguba ang grupo [If he wants, he can be my runningmate for vice mayor so that the group would remain solid]."
It is not known, however, if her announcement has the blessing of his husband, the former Iloilo City solon.
Gonzalez's statement is expected to create problems for Mabilog, who is reported to be banking on the Gonzalezes to catapult him to his dream of eventually becoming city mayor in 2010.
"If what Dr. Pacita is saying is true, dako gid ang mangin problema ni Jed [Jed would have a very big problem], considering that he has already decided to ally himself with the Gonzalezes to carry himself to the mayoralty seat in 2010. Ang malain sini, basi madulaan s'ya sang puwesto sa dason nga eleksyon kon mainsistir gid s'ya magpadalagan bilang meyor [Worse, he could lose his position in the group in the next elections if he insists on running for mayor]," a City Hall observer quipped.
"While Mabilog also has the logistics to fund a credible mayoralty bid, he may have to raise tens of millions in campaign funds if he is to be able to fight toe-to-toe with the moneyed Gonzalezes," the same source quipped.