EdPam sees ‘close fight;’ Tarzan says ‘no contest’

Mayor Edgardo “EdPam” Pamintuan noted recently that the fight for the mayoralty post here will be “close” and “will not be a walk in the park” as he takes on the challenge posed by first district Representative Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin.

Pamintuan, who is seeking reelection, and Lazatin, who has shifted his sights from the congressional bid to the mayoralty seat he once occupied, have been in tangles recently, exchanging brickbats and hurling accusations at each other even before the filing of certificates of candidacy, and have reached the point of a call for a public debate.

During the recent “Kapihan with EdPam” at a coffee shop in Balibago, the incumbent mayor told media: “It will be a close fight in 2013. I’m sure 45 days before election time ay bakbakan na. That is, kung aabot siya [Lazatin]. It will not be a walk in the park though. I know that.”

“Tatalunin ko siya. Napasubo siya sa akin. He knows and Angeleños know that everything I promised, I delivered,” said Pamintuan.

However, Lazatin’s chief aide, IC Calaguas, shrugged off Pamintuan’s statements.
She said: “To us, it remains ‘no contest’ at all. The accomplishments of Representative Lazatin will speak for themselves kahit sinasabi ng kabilang kampo na hindi siya umiikot. That’s precisely the reason. Sila ang dapat umikot because our record proves that in the recent congressional race, we got 80,000 votes from Angeles City alone, considering the city has an estimated 150,000 voters. And our supporters are still there.”

“No contest,” Calaguas told Sun.Star Pampanga on Tuesday.

On the challenge for a public debate, Pamintuan said, “A debate is fine with me but I will not be the one to initiate it. At this point, I continue to work and as much as possible, leave politics behind. But because of the many accusations the Lazatin camp is throwing against me, I had to go on air [at dwRW 95.1 FM’s Talakayan recently] to clear them because there is no truth whatsoever to the opposing camps’ allegations.”
“Wala akong ginawang masama sa kanya. But Tarzan is Tarzan and Edpam is Edpam. I do not lie,” Pamintuan said.

But Calaguas said Lazatin is ready for a debate “anytime, anywhere.”
“The congressman is ready. Basta clear ang topics and the ground rules and regulations are laid down. Of course, Rep. Lazatin would want to tackle the corruption and bankruptcy issues the most. Para ma-settle na rin nila lahat and to prove who’s really lying and who’s not,” Calaguas said.

by; Jovi De Leon