STA. BARBARA – On the eve of what many of his townmates foresee as a landslide win against the incumbent ruling family, mayoralty candidate Reynaldo Velasco made a final appeal to Sta. Barbara voters to “restore a sense of decency, sense of self-respect, for change and for reforms in an open letter sent out to them.

Velasco decried the depth the town has gone in electing the mistress of his opponent in the last election which indicated, he said, how low the moral values of the electorate had gone. He further noted how his opponent has shamed his office by holding municipal council meetings in his cockpit during his incumbency.

His appeal was made against the backdrop of his winning the support of the bloc-voting Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) in his mayoralty run and a separate expression of support from former Sen. Leticia R. Shahani, younger sister of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

The influential religious sect has been reputed to provide the swing votes in favor of local and national
elections candidates in closely contested races.

The INC and the president’s sister were among the latest to board the Velasco bandwagon that has geared to peak on election day. Earlier, undefeated congressman Generoso Tulagan and a group of Sta.Barbara political leaders including former mayors, have also come aboard

If he wins, Velasco will replace Zaplan’s second wife as mayor.

In his appeal, the retired three-star police general pointed out that the choice of electing local officials in his town is critical for the voters will be handing over their future to a handful of local leaders

“Your local officials are the ones who can touch your lives, assure the safety of your homes, the ones who
can give better health and education services, the very people you can run to during emergencies,”
Velasco reminded his constituents in the letter-appeal.