Lingayen – Incoming Fifth District Representative and outgoing Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. eyes to head the Agriculture and Food Committee when the 17th congress opens this July.
With Pangasinan’s welfare in mind, Gov. Espino said in an interview last June 14 that securing the post will enable him to further his advocacies on agriculture such as the second phase of irrigation in San Roque and to introduce technology that would boost development in the agriculture industry.

Gov. Espino bared that aside from heading the House of Representative’s agriculture committee, he has sought membership in the public works and appropriations committees to be able to voice the needed infrastructures in the province and in the fifth legislative district since congressmen do not have Priority Development Assistance Fund.

“I hope it pushes through… so we can help with the housing projects, and the neglected big projects like airports, container ports, economic zone, and BPO (business process outsourcing) center,” he said.

It can be recalled that PDAF, which congressmen previously used to finance own infrastructure projects in their district, has been abolished in 2014.

He also disclosed that he has just recently sworn in to the supermajority coalition Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan of which the national chairman is the President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Asked on the graft case filed against him for the alleged black sand mining, Gov. Espino said that he with his co-accused in the cases former Provincial Administrator Rafael Howard Baraan and former Provincial Housing and Homesite Regulation Officer Alvin Bigay, posted P60,000 bail each on June 13.

“It was filed in 2012 and left out and just elevated to the Sandiganbayan court when the election was near. It was even used heavily to discredit us,” recounted the provincial chief executive.

He is confident that the case will be dismissed, citing that “they did nothing wrong and Lingayen Gulf has been a recipient of national awards for coastal resources management.”

“We’ll let them go through the process. (The case is already there.) We’ll just respond,” he said.

The incoming fifth district representative is elated that Pangasinenses remained unswayed by the smear tactics hurled on him and his family, proof of which is his and his namesake son and successor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino, III’s overwhelming win over a son of a business tycoon.

Gov. Espino thanked the Pangasinenses who showed unrelenting support to him and his family.

He promises to double the effort and service they have rendered in the past years in return for their love and support to the Espino family.