Arriane
Mae Cuevas of the Liberal Party garnered a total of 11,529 as against the 6,931
of former congressman Pacifico Fajardo of the Nationalist People’s
Coalition-Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija (NPC-Balane) or a margin of 4,598.
In
what city election officer Westly Rey Del Fonso said is one of the most
lop-sided scores in this city’s political history, Cuevas won 65 percent of the
votes in the 19 barangays in this city where the Fajardos used to be political
kingpins.
However,
Cuevas’ running mate, outgoing three-term Mayor Romeo Capinpin lost to Florante
Mercado in the vice mayoral race. Mercado of NPC-Balane - son of former
three-term Makati
vice mayor Nestor - amassed 10,375 votes as against Capinpin’s 7,391 or a vote
difference of 2,984.
Cuevas’
allies won six seats in the 10-man Sangguniang Panlungsod. They are Capinpin’s
son Romaric who obtained 9,630 votes; Jesusa Fajardo (9,071), Abegail Bantegui
(6,409), Rogelio Piadozo (6,126), Ernesto Lutap (6,116) and outgoing Vice Mayor
Moises Carmona Jr. (5,374).
Mercado’s
partymates who won were Ian Howell Guyud (7,251) and Rosalia Merez (6,828).
Independent Petronio Garcia got 6,433.
Fajardo’s
defeat could signal the end of a checkered political career for one of Nueva
Ecija’s acknowledged political heavyweights which started when he became mayor
for three terms.
In
1992, he became congressman in a stunning upset, bringing down Hermogenes Concepcion Jr., a
former justice of the Supreme Court in the third congressional district. Their
face-off was a classic David vs Goliath fight.
Fajardo handily
won reelection in 1995 and 1998. His political clout as a Lakas-CMD stalwart resulted
in three consecutive three-year terms as mayor for his wife Leonora and one
term for their daughter, Lorelei, a former deputy presidential spokesperson and
presidential assistant for Central Luzon under the administration of former
president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Fajardo
ran for governor in 2001 but lost by landslide to then-governor Tomas Joson
III. At the height of Edsa Dos which thrust Mrs. Aquino into power, Fajardo was
appointed administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority which he served for
seven months.
A
successful businessman before he entered politics, Fajardo has held various
posts in government and the private sector, including director of San Miguel
Corp. (Manny Galvez)
