DAGUPAN CITY: Incumbent Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III and former governor Amado Espino III will again face each other in next year’s gubernatorial race in the province.
Espino, who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Saturday, will run with former Dasol, Pangasinan Mayor Noel Nacar as his vice governor.
“Ito ay laban para sa mga kababayan natin na ibalik ang serbisyong Espino na naramdaman nila for the past 15 years mula pa sa aking ama (This is a fight for our province mates who want to feel anew the Espino service they experienced in the past 15 years since my father [former governor Amado Espino Jr.]),” he said in an interview with the media at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office here.
Espino and his group visited the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag before heading for the Comelec office.
“We wanted our province mates to feel that the leader they voted for serves them well and right, and that our province be spared from any calamities, and unity for the good of th
e next generation,” he said when asked what he prayed for at the Minor Basilica.
Guico and his running mate, incumbent Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino, filed their COCs on Oct. 2.
In an interview, he said many of his administration’s programs are set for mid- and long-term completion.
“Marami (kaming) inumpisahan na gustong ipagpatuloy at ma-improve pa (We initiated a lot of projects that we want to continue and even improve them),” he said, citing as an example the Pangasinan Link Expressway project with San Miguel Holdings Corp.
Comelec-Pangasinan provincial election supervisor, lawyer Ericson Oganiza, said in an interview that the Comelec offices would be open this weekend to aspirants who will file their COCs.
Aspirants for other local posts, such as councilor, vice mayor, and mayor, filed their COCs at the local Comelec offices.
Among those who filed their COCs were former Mangaldan, Pangasinan mayor Marilyn Lambino, wife of former secretary Raul Lambino, who is seeking reelection.
She is runnin
g under Lakas CMD.
Source: Philippines News Agency
