Ecija gov’s lawmaker-wife eyeing governorship in 2016

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – The Umalis, Nueva Ecija’s political kingpins, are fielding outgoing third district Rep. Czarina “Cherry” Umali as the clan’s standard-bearer for governor in the 2016 elections.

Gov. Aurelio Umali, husband of the incumbent lawmaker who is also on his last term as provincial chief executive, announced this amid the emerging “womanization” of the political leadership in the province.

The governor said Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos will be his wife’s running mate to sustain the gains of the Umali administration.

“Definitely, Congresswoman Cherry will run for governor and I have been assured by Vice Gov. GP (Padiernos’ initials) that he will join us in 2016,” he said.

Umali said women leaders are fast stamping their class in politics, be it in the international, national and local political arenas.

He took note that in the House of Representatives, an unprecedented 79 female lawmakers were elected last May, showing the drift toward electing women leaders as a power bloc such as Reps. Georgina de Venecia, Lani Mercado, Lucy Torres-Gomez, and Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, to name a few.

“Incidentally, Nueva Ecija has three women as representatives out of the four congressional districts, namely Reps. Estrellita Suansing in the first district, Czarina in the third district, and Magnolia Antonino-Nadres in the fourth district,” he said.  

Umali, executive vice president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, added that in the provinces, people have witnessed the election of female governors.

Rep. Umali would make her bid to be the first-ever female governor in the once politically strife-torn province.