The political situation in Bacolod is perplexing and the tandems are at best dismaying as the tattered political groupings try to cope with the perceived strength of the party in power at the Bacolod Government Center.
Since the day the candidacies were filed, and even prior to this, the movements of political butterflies has been clear and rather funny. Even the issues raised by the parties out of power have become not just puzzling, but laughable. Take the case of the group that was once called Monico Kabuhi Ko or its acronym MKK. I find this kind of come-on as presumptive, presenting its top candidate as the source of life which is an arrogation of the powers that comes only from the heavens. It metamorphosed into Monico Kag Kalaw, referring to Puentevella's son who is also running for public office, naturally under Puentevella's banner, although his son had a dismal showing in the last election. The boy has become a man and seems to be presented as the possible heir to his father. Nothing is wrong with that but it stinks to too many people. The group challenging the administration Grupo Progreso for the post of councilors under the MKK is a puzzle as well. I am inclined to believe that they have no clear-cut issue that can form a basis for a program of government in the event they are elected. All their jingles raise the same issue of corruption but this thrust looks funny if not ridiculous and hypocritical because Puentevella, who heads the group, stands accused not just of thievery of the government treasury but of plunder. They all want to put an end to corruption, like a mantra of their entire campaign but how they intend to do that is unclear or is missing. Moreover, how can they stand before the electorate and claim to be fighting against corruption when their own leader stands accused of plunder? Of course the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty but Puentevella and his company are running under the banner of incorruptibility and they should measure themselves on the basis of their own honesty. If these people are running under another group or leader who can stand public scrutiny then their claim to be soldiers against corruption will have some semblance of credibility. It is like asking people to buy a car in the junk yard and claiming it to be new. This position alone makes them as much guilty of attempting to hoodwink the people of Bacolod as a discredited magician. The plunder case, unlike those by political hirelings, was filed by the Philippine Sports Commission charging that Puentevella deposited in his personal bank account the money of PSC. How can the likes of Andy Hagad and Frank Carbon of the Liberal Party dance and sing the same music and sleeping in the same bed with Puentevella in complete disregard of their own party's position and slogan of “matuwid na daan?” The LP has not accepted Puentebella for some reason so that it is perplexing that the LP here is a bunch of bedfellows of Puentevella. In fact, the LP rejected the entry of Lyndon Caña in their party because it has a coalition of sorts with the NPC so that it is puzzling that the LP here is fighting their own coalition and running under a non-party, the nebulous MKK. Granting that the LP here is independent of the national LP directorate, still they should follow their national slogan of the straight path. How then can they abide by this standard of government by coalescing with a candidate accused of plunder? Carbon, Hagad, and the rest are known for their straightforwardness but they are telling us that they are, after a,ll of the same feathers as Puentevella. The group of El Cid Familiaran and Archie Baribar had been with Puentevella and they refused to continue being there. Does this not tell us something? It is a pity that the people who had allied with Puentevella like Hagad and Carbon will be tarnished by the public image of this candidate. Were they mesmerized by the possibility that the Puentevella camp has the money to bankroll their candidacy? Is this the yardstick of their claimed fight against corruption? Is their quest for public office so intense that they are willing to settle down their acceptable image just to get elected? Are they so enamored with winning at the price of having to cling to the coattails of a candidate charged with plunder in the belief that Puentevella will finance them? Is this not selling one's principle? They had cast their die. Let us wait to see how it will roll, but one thing is certain. They will have a difficult time defending Puentevella. BY: MODESTO P. SA-ONOY THE VISAYAN DAILY STAR
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