LP-led coalition to pit LRay vs Dato

MANILA, Philippines - The Liberal Party-led administration coalition will most likely field three-term Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund (LRay) Villafuerte against incumbent second district Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo.

Villafuerte belongs to the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., one of LP’s coalition partners.

Arroyo is the younger son of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is seeking reelection in Pampanga’s second district.

Elder son Juan Miguel, also a congressman representing a group of security guards and tricycle drivers, is no longer qualified to seek another term, having served for three consecutive terms or nine years.

In Pampanga, LP officers said they are looking for a candidate to support against Mrs. Arroyo.

During her mother’s watch, the previous Congress created Dato Arroyo’s second district out of CamSur’s first district, which is the bailiwick of the Andayas. Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. is expected to seek a second term.

In the gubernatorial race, third-district Rep. Luis Villafuerte, patriarch of the Villafuerte clan, will slug it out with a son of LRay. Villafuerte and his governor-son do not see eye-to-eye on CamSur politics.

In a recent hearing on a bill creating the province of Nueva Camarines (NuevaCam) out of CamSur, the elder Villafuerte told his grandson: “Apo, ikaw ba ang lalaban sa akin? Huwag kang makinig sa tatay mo (Grandson, are you the one who will fight me? Don’t listen to your father).”

The gubernatorial race, unlike the congressional fight in the second district, is expected to be a free-for-all since the elder Villafuerte belongs to another LP coalition partner, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

The fourth district, where another interesting congressional contest looms, will also be a free zone. William Fuentebella, son of “graduating” Rep. Arnulfo Fuentebella, will slug it out with actor Aga Muhlach, a new LP member.

If the NuevaCam bill becomes law, the elder Fuentebella will run for governor of the new province.

In Albay, former minority leader Edcel Lagman of the first district is retiring from politics. His son and namesake, Edcel Jr., a former Quezon City councilor, will try to succeed him.

In Leyte, three-term Rep. Florencio Noel of the party-list group An Waray has filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor of Tacloban City.