Cabanatuan City mayoral race heats up

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – Politics is heating up in this Nueva Ecija capital.

This, as re-electionist Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara, who was accused along with 10 others of grabbing and stealing a video camera of a television crew last week, was challenged to take a drug test by a political rival.

The dare was hurled by outgoing provincial board member Emmanuel Antonio Umali who said the drug test would put to rest speculations against Vergara.

At a press conference here this week, Umali, younger brother of re-electionist Gov. Aurelio Umali, said if Vergara wants, he is willing to undergo the drug test together with the governor and his wife, re-electionist third district Rep. Czarina Umali.

“We are willing to take the drug test with him in public anytime, anywhere,” he said, adding though it should be through testing of hair strands instead of the usual urine test.

“But we can also do it both ways, urine and hair tests,” added Umali, who is running for mayor against Vergara under the banner of Unang Sigaw Partido ng Pagbabago.

Vergara was charged along with 10 John Does before the city prosecutor’s office for allegedly grabbing and carting away a Panasonic video camera of TV 48 in Barangay San Isidro last April 28.

TV 48 is incidentally a propaganda arm of the Umali camp which has been in a fierce word war over the airwaves with Teleradyo dwJJ owned by the Vergara family.

The complaint against Vergara was filed by TV 48 station manager Joseph Picarp, cameraman Erme Buendia, and broadcast technician Eduard Buendia, 23.

Vergara’s camp has denied the video camera-grabbing incident.