By Leonardo V. Micua
DAGUPAN CITY, (PNA)—A mother and son will face each other in the barangay elections in Poblacion Oeste here on Oct. 28 despite an earlier effort of another member of the family to intervene between the two protagonists.
Joseph Vallejos, alias ‘Jojo’, 41, said she will run against his mother Julita Vallejos, 82, the incumbent barangay captain, despite the intervention being exerted by his earlier brother Councilor Guillermo Vallejos.”My elder brother (Guillermo) wants me to give way to our mother and run instead for reelection as councilman but I told him I can not do this any more after sacrificing my ambition in the last barangay elections, Joseph said.
It was Guillermo who won in that election and succeeded to become the Liga ng mga barangay president and ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
When Guillermo ran and won as a regular member of the Dagupan city council, placing 10th and last in the list of winners, he was succeeded as barangay captain of Poblacion Oeste by their mother Julita being the number one councilwoman, with Joseph the number two councilman.
“My brother ‘Emong’ wanted me to run for councilman and become number one so that I can succeed our mother who will leave her post after one year of her term. But I said no, since I am already ripe for the position,’ said Joseph.
At the same time, Joseph denied he is being put up as a candidate for barangay captain in Poblacion Oeste by Mayor Belen Fernandez, telling media men that running for barangay captain was his long-time obsession and no longer needed to be pushed.
Mayor Fernandez herself denied meddling in the barangay polls of Poblacion Oeste as the incumbent barangay captain (Julita) and councilman Joseph are her friends.
Another Vallejos sibling is Virginia Vallejos- Rosario, who is the city engineer of Dagupan and her husband, Romeo Rosario, city development and planning coordinator in the administration of Mayor Fernandez.
“I am close to Jojo and her mother. Ask them if I ever intruded into their decision to fight against each other in the coming polls. I do not know that the two of them filed for the same position and will fight each other,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said that it is so unfair to involve her on the issue without even getting her side, referring to an article in a national daily insinuating she goaded Joseph to fight her mother.
“I asked Jojo (on this) personally and he denied having uttered those words to his brother Emong that I would get angry with him if he does not run,” said Fernandez.