Carmelo Gurion Lazatin Jr. (; born August 28, 1969), also known as Pogi Lazatin, is a Filipino politician and businessman who is the congressman of Pampanga's First District, serving since 2025. He has also served as the 34th City Mayor of Angeles,

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

from 2019 to 2025. Having won the

2025 Philippine House of Representatives elections The 2025 Philippine House of Representatives elections were the List of legislatures of the Philippines, 37th lower house elections in the Philippines. It was held on May 12, 2025, within the 2025 Philippine general election. All 317 seats in ...

unopposed. He succeeded his half-brother,

Carmelo Lazatin II Carmelo Bautista Lazatin II (; born June 4, 1970) also known as Jon Lazatin, is a Filipino politician who is serving as the 16th and current representative for Pampanga's first district since 2016. He is the mayor-elect of the city of Angeles ...

, who was proclaimed mayor-elect of

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

on May 13, 2025.

Early life and education

Pogi was born on August 28, 1969 in

to Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin Sr., a former Mayor of Angeles City and Representative of the 1st District of Pampanga and Iluminada Gurion Lazatin. He is an alumnus of

Angeles University Foundation The Angeles University Foundation () also referred to by its acronym AUF, is a private Roman Catholic non-stock, non-profit educational institution run by lay persons in Angeles City. It was established on May 25, 1962, by Agustin P. Angeles, B ...

, where he earned his

Bachelor of Business Management Bachelor of Business Management (BBM), sometimes known as a fundamentals in marketing, is an undergraduate program of four years. The BBM degree is designed to teach students the skills necessary to perform leadership roles in the business and cor ...

degree. He then proceeded to Republic Central Colleges to pursue a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

, Major in Business Administration. Then he continued his education at the same institution, earning both a

Master in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

and a

Master in Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the i ...

Political career

Councilor of Angeles City (2013–2019)

Lazatin first entered politics, where he run and won as City Councilor of Angeles City from 2013 to 2019. As a Councilor, he has initiated numerous projects. Since his election on 2013 until his term ended on 2019. Lazatin belongs to the minority bloc, challenging the legislative agenda of then-Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan.

Mayor of Angeles City (2019–2025)

In 2018, Lazatin announced that he will run as Mayor of Angeles City under

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP; ) is a national political party in the Philippines. It is chaired by Bongbong Marcos, president of the Philippines, who won in the 2022 election. During the run-up to the 2022 general election, the UniTea ...

with Maria Vicenta Vega-Cabigting as his running mate. He was then elected for the first time in 2019 with half a thousand votes and re-elected in 2022 under Kapanalig at Kambilan ning Memalen Pampanga, securing his position with over a thousand votes—the highest in the city’s history, winning in all clustered precincts across the city’s 33 barangays. In October 2019, during his first term, Mayor Lazatin ordered the closure of "Golden Build Limited, Incorporated," a Chinese-operated Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators firm. The company was operating illegally in Angeles City without a business permit and failing to pay taxes for its operations. In May 2020, Lazatin, with assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation and the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

, shut down an illegal Chinese pharmacy. The majority of the patients at this unauthorized medical facility were Chinese employees of a POGO, located within a 300-hectare residential resort. On May 31, 2023, Lazatin most famous project the "Walang Plastikan: Plastik Palit Bigas Project," became a ''National Finalist'' and was honored by President Bongbong Marcos Jr. at

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

. The project earned recognition for its innovative strategy in reducing hunger and enhancing environmental sustainability. Lazatin inaugurated the "Kanlungan ng Kabataan Reformation Center," in September 2024 a

₱ The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...

41 million facility dedicated to rehabilitating homeless individuals and supporting youth in need of care and guidance. On January 28, 2025, Lazatin unveiled the "Angeleño Alerto 24/7 Mobile App - Personal On-call Guard Interface (POGI)" by the computer information system (CBIS). This 24-hour emergency response mobile application, POGI, is the first of its kind in the entire province of

and the whole Region III.

Congressman (2025–present)

On October 1, 2024, Lazatin submitted his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the

2025 Philippine Midterm Election The 2025 Philippine general election was held on May 12, 2025. During this midterm election, where the winners take office mid-way through the term of President Bongbong Marcos, all 317 seats in the House of Representatives and 12 of the 24 sea ...

to contest for the position of Pampanga's First District Representative at the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. Lazatin is running unopposed, securing his position as Pampanga's First District Representative, succeeding his half-brother

, who has been proclaimed as Mayor-elect of

. Both Lazatin brothers assumed office on June 30, 2025.

Personal life

Lazatin is married to Maria Tiffanee Lazatin and has three children, who are often seen supporting his public engagements. His grandfather, Rafael Lazatin, was also a former

Governor of Pampanga The governor of Pampanga () is the local chief executive of the Philippine province of Pampanga. List of governors of Pampanga Spanish era Alcaldes Mayores (1812-1886) *José Avilés (1812-1820) *Francisco Paula de los Santos (1821-1824) *Fulgen ...

References

External links

Official website of Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr.

Official website of the City of Angeles, Mayor tab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazatin, Carmelo Jr. 1969 births Living people Kapampangan people Carmelo Jr. Mayors of Angeles City Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Pampanga Politicians from Pampanga People from Angeles City Partido Federal ng Pilipinas politicians Kambilan politicians Filipino city and municipal councilors