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| Marcos Mayor Antonio Mariano in an interview with the members of the media. (Photo by Dulce Valenzuela) |
By Dominic B. dela Cruz (Staff Reporter)
Marcos, Ilocos Norte—"Awan kinagpayso na dayta nga agwarwaras ta iti kinapudno na ket kayat paylaeng dagiti appo nga kakailiak itiMarcos nga itul-tuloy ko iti pinagserbik kadakuada babaen ngata dagiti nagkaadu a makitkita da a pinag progreso ti ili mi”.
This was Marcos Mayor Antonio Mariano clarification on rumors that he will no longer run for re-election in next year’s elections as he will be going back to the United States for his family.
The Ilocos Timeslearned that there are already some politicians eyeing the said mayoralty post, including his opponents in 2019 election and one of his present councilor.
The mayor likewise said that his relationship with Marcos Vice Mayor Hilario Lorenzo is “okay in terms of work”.
“Dayta iti the big question mark no kayat nak to pay a kadwa wennu saanen ngem possible met a kadwak to payla dagit dati a kokonsehales ko,” Mariano stated on said the possibility of Lorenzo becoming his running mate again.
“Adayo payla iti panunot ko mainaig iti pulitika ngem siguro pang saywar da lang dagiti agngayangay,” the mayor added.
He emphasized that politics is too early to discuss, instead, he said he focuses more on the COVID-19 situation and the African swine fever (ASF), which has already reached his town.
As of press time, Mariano said that active cases for COVID-19 in this town have reached 107 while contact tracing is going. He expressed hopes all those positive cases will recover soon. Marcos town has recorded four casualties.
He also reported that their quarantine facilities are ready and sufficient but some of these affected individuals are in their respective barangays and homes for their isolation period.
Relative to this, he said that Brgy. Fortuna is on total lockdown as they have 27 COVID-19 positive individuals, “nga iti maysa a rason no apay adu ket gapu iti pinaggaasideg kada aggaabay a bal-balay a possible nga alisto iti pinag spread na”.
Other than dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, he said he is also concentrating on the ongoing infrastructure projects of the municipality, including the construction of the municipal hall building, which is now more than 50 percent complete. The mayor is hopeful they will complete the project before his first term ends next year.
Other projects Mariano is monitoring for implementation are the bridge connecting Brgys. Daquioag and Tabukbok going to Madongan Dam; relocation of the Marcos Public Market; and the Construction of a multi-purpose evacuation center.