Baby Arenas’s son to face Syjucos in Iloilo’s 2nd District
From left, Ramon "Citoy" Arenas, his mother Rosemarie "Baby" Arenas and Iloilo second district's political leader Dr. Rolando Padilla during yesterday's affair.The son of socialite Rosemarie ‘Baby A’ Arenas will face the Syjucos in the battle for the congressional seat of the second district of Iloilo province.
Arenas made the announcement at a so-called acquaintance party with political figures and local leaders from the 2nd district at a hotel here yesterday noontime.
The News Today attempted to reach Sec. Augusto Syjuco, the husband of 2nd dist. Rep. Judy Syjuco, for their reaction, but the call went unanswered.
Arenas likened herself and son, Ramon popularly known as Citoy, to Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao.
My son is Manny Pacquiao, and I am Freddie Roach, she said. So the fighter always obeys what the coach says, she added.
“So it will be a KO (knockout) in election day,” Arenas boasted.
She emphasized, though, that it will be her son, Ramon, who will be calling the shots.
“I’m just like Danding (Conjuangco), who is a kingmaker,” she said.
Arenas whose mother-in-law Dona Julieta Lopez-Arenas is from Iloilo said it is high time for Iloilo to regain its glory with her son’s political ambition. She lambasted the way the political reign in the second district is run. “After the husband, the wife takes over then back to the wife, they want to cling to their post eternally,” Arenas said referring to the Syjuco couple.
Ramon, who is with the Nationalist People’s Coalition, said he will be filing his certificate of candidacy on Nov. 28, 2009, after they shall have finished consulting the people of the second district.
He is a registered voter of Barangay Tubigan in the town of Zarraga. A mestizo looking Citoy speaks good Hiligaynon.
His sister, Rachel, is currently the representative of Pangasinan’s 3rd district.
His mother said they will focus on health, education, and livelihood.
Arenas admitted that they will be going against a politically-entrenched clan of Syjucos, who, like them, have more than enough financial means to wage a political campaign.
But, she said, this isn’t just about the money, as she expressed confidence that they will defeat the Syjucos in their turf.
“God is always with us. There has been too much oppression of the poor in the 2nd district,” she stressed, as she appealed for help from the local leaders of the district.
In Pangasinan, she recalled, their enemy had guns, goons, and gold, while they, according to her, only had the people to help them.
Arenas has the support of the influential Lopez family who were also responsible for the Syjucos to reign in the second district. “The Lopezes and the Arenas maintained a good name in Iloilo and there was never a time that our names become tainted,” Arenas cited.
