No official Palace bet for Pampanga gov yet, says Lapid

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The Arroyo administration has yet to announce its gubernatorial candidate in this province, Sen. Lito Lapid said yesterday.

Lapid expressed confidence that a unity ticket at the local level would uphold the reelection bid of his son, Gov. Mark Lapid.

The senator also reiterated his plan to run for mayor of Makati City regardless of whether the administration would anoint his son as its official gubernatorial bet against provincial board member Lilia Pineda, wife of Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda who was once alleged to be a gambling lord.

The other day, Pineda held a press conference in Quezon City to formally announce her intention to run for Pampanga governor with incumbent Vice Gov. Joseller "Yeng" Guiao as her running mate.

Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, provincial chairman of the pro-administration Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi), was quoted as saying that President Arroyo had designated Pineda as her administration’s gubernatorial candidate in the province.

"I will definitely run for Makati mayor," he said, although he declined to comment on reports that Mrs. Arroyo had personally asked him to do so.

Lapid debunked reports that the President had given her blessings to Pineda as the official administration candidate under Kampi. The Lapids have long been members of the Lakas-Christian, Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).

Lapid declined to comment though on her son’s conflict with Pineda, saying he would do so "as soon as things have cooled down." He, however, said his family has no personal tiff with the Pinedas.

During her recent "consultation" sorties in various towns, Pineda, however, openly criticized what she claimed was Mark’s "weak leadership." For his part, Guiao vowed to file charges against the governor over alleged anomalies in the collection of lahar sand quarrying fees.

In an earlier interview with The STAR, presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor said presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio would create arbitration committees to resolve conflicts among pro-administration candidates at the local level.

He said the committees would have representations from the pro-administration political parties, including Lakas-CMD, Kampi, and the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

In an interview here during a provincial convention of party members, Lakas-CMD secretary general Miguel Zubiri said they had been negotiating with other pro-administration parties for unity tickets at the local level.

He said this was needed to prevent the opposition from dominating the congressional and local polls.

Zubiri said the Lakas-CMD would support Mark’s reelection bid as he noted the Lapids’ loyalty to the party.