The first names to file their Certificates of Candidacy that I read here in Lourdes , France where we arrived transiting from Paris , indicate that there are no surprises in the political game. Media had been quite accurate in their “snooping” around and reading what Gov. Freddie Marañon said, was spoken eloquently by the “body language.”
By the time this column comes out, he probably would be able to announce his choice for vice governor and that is the real surprise. We shall be able to gauge the chances of his choice once the name is out, certainly not beyond tomorrow. I am glad that former Vice Mayor Renecito Novero and his allies that he called “Magnificent Seven” are joining the fray. This places the political fight in Bácolod into a higher plane of excitement. Novero is reclaiming his former position while the rest are trying to keep theirs. Their decision to reject the group of Monico Puentevella is a good move because they would not be linked or tainted with his plunder and other cases that will remain, until they are resolved, as millstones around his political neck and political ambitions, and even personal life. The people who opted to run under Puentevella will be facing a big obstacle because it would be ridiculous for them to talk about good governance when Puentevella is facing these charges, filed not by ordinary citizens or paid lackeys,but by the government. They talk of transparency, for instance, and yet the plunder case and the other cases of the fertilizer scam, the computer scam and the asphalt scam, the SEAG scam, are nothing but surreptitious and secretive maneuvers by a person who was given the gift of power by the people. How can they talk or even base their platform on transparency under the circumstances? I am certain that this platform of transparency is directed at Mayor Bing Leonardia who also has not been convicted of any malfeasance in office and the charges, several of them for years, had been dismissed. Sure, one can say Puentevella has not been convicted, but to repeat, the cases were filed by the government, and that makes it entirely different from those clearly filed to harass. If the people who now work for the grant of new powers to Puentevella, a power they want to share, and ask the voters of Bácolod, they must convince us that he is clean. But that would be asking for the moon. How can they clean up Puentevella's mess? I challenge them to ask the Ombudsman and the Sandigan, to speed up the cases and even resolve them before the start of the election campaign. They should ask Puentevella to direct his lawyers to file for the expeditious resolution of the cases. But reports say that Puentevella's lawyers, as lawyers must do under instruction of their client, and top lawyers at that, had been blocking the movement of these cases by dribbling it till kingdom come. Perhaps there is no truth to this report since we know how the disposition of cases in this country moves, but since Puentevella is running for public office anew and has adopted transparency as his platform of government, it behooves them to prove they mean what they say. It is a pity that just after it was re-launched with credible captain and sailors, the LP ship began to founder and its captain jumped into another ship, possibly to get into a safety boat. Unfortunately for them, the ship they jumped into has plenty of holes. Councilors Archie Baribar, El Cid Familiaran and Sonya Verdeflor, however, will be able to bring the LP ship safely to shore. They have the competence to do that. They have as well the following, the political savvy and the credible public record that surely will augur well for them. The line-up of Grupo Progreso shows some weak spots or candidates and I think the LP under Archie and company will be able to match and even push them into the bottom rung. Was this intentional on the part of Grupo Progreso to allow Archie and company to win? After all there is no unbridgeable gap between the incumbent councilor, the returning councilors and Archie's group. So Rep. Anthony Golez is seeking reelection as an independent but he takes being “independent” too seriously by not having anyone with him. He has no slate. That, however, is a sign of grave, fatal weakness because it seems no political group wanted to be with him and he does not want anybody with him, at least politically, except his family. The issue against Golez ought to be purely his performance but it cannot be helped that his personal life be scrutinized, because his private behavior belongs to the public domain.* (Dear Editors: Your time is 7-8 hours ahead of ours and we are constantly moving, literally, so please adjust my columns to suit your publication schedule. I am writing now in Lourdes, France and leaving in 4 hours for Rome. The trip will be long – 8 hours on the train and bus, so I will be unable to send until we reach Rome. Hopefully this will normalize when we reach the US. Thanks and best regards to all.*MPS) Modesto P. Sa-Onoy The Visayan Daily Star
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