Yap picks Cojuangco ally as running mate

TARLAC CITY — It’s final. A loyal ally of former Rep. Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr. will be the vice gubernatorial bet of a local political party loyal to deposed President Joseph Estrada.

Former Tarlac governor Candido Guiam, an erstwhile ally of the Aquinos and Cojuangcos who were actively involved in EDSA I and II, claimed that former board member Marcelino Aganon Jr. has finally agreed to be the running mate of re-electionist Gov. Jose Yap Sr.

Yap, known to be one of Estrada’s staunch supporters, will be running under the banner of the local party Sama-Sama sa Tarlac (SST), a local coalition of Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr.’s Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Aganon, who chairs the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Planters Cooperative Marketing Association Inc., the marketing arm of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita, is known to be one of Peping’s ardent supporters.

Vice Gov. Herminio Aquino, the People Power Coalition’s gubernatorial bet, said he will announce his running mate on the day he and his slate will file their certificates of candidacy. — Benjie Villa