ANGELES CITY – Former Bamban Mayor Feliciano appeared before the Senate panel investigating illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) on Monday, September 9.
Feliciano was summoned due to his connection with dismissed mayor Alice Guo. He failed to attend the previous hearing due to a prior commitment.
The former mayor of Bamban said he met Guo in 2016 when she, along with a group of hog farmers from Bamban, visited his office to address issues related to the pig industry, including foul odors and boosting the town’s income.
“(We) first met around 2016 when she went to (the) office and a group of hog farmers in Bamban. To talk about the problem in the pig industry such as foul smell and increase the income of the town and lobbying them to help us out. That’s the only time nagkakilala kami (ni Alice),” Feliciano said.
“Since she was a pig farmer, in my second term, she is coming to the office. She was just an ordinary person coming to my office getting permits,” Feliciano said.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada questioned why Feliciano endorsed Guo instead of former barangay captain Joey Salting who ran against Guo in the 2022 elections and lost by some 400 votes.
Feliciano added that Salting was supposedly his successor.
“But the problem was during my last term, I decided to run for congressman for the 3rd District (Tarlac). Unfortunately, I lost,” Feliciano said.
“So on my part since I don’t have a running mate in my town, I decided I have to have a running mate of myself. And so after that, I needed somebody on my side. As a former local chief executive, the local chief executive should be economic managers,” Feliciano added.
Feliciano said that there was no inkling that Guo intended to run for local office at that time. He added that it took around two months for Guo to decide to run as the local chief executive in their town. Feliciano also denied that Guo funded his electoral campaigns.
Feliciano first ran for mayor in 2010 but lost. He ran again in 2013 and served a full-term until 2022, after which he attempted to run for Congress but was unsuccessful.