OPINION: Beware of Takasan’s green ordinance

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

jan 11

Compostela Valley candidates have really to be aware of Takasan’s green ordinance. That Provincial Ordinance No. 05, series of 2009, authored by Boardmember Moran Takasan has a political logic: It levels the electoral playing field among candidates, poor and rich alike.

It was two elections ago that I was bedazzled by the propaganda materials massively put up in trees along Comval’s District 1 roads and highways by a rich candidate for boardmember. The material made of sack and painted red with the name of the candidate obviously resulted to a good name recall for the candidate. Because he has a fleet of trucks and an army of campaigners, it was easy for him to mount his propa materials even in high trees that could not be reached by the oplan langkat of rival candidates. Because of such feat, he landed one of the top in the boardmembers’ race even if it was only his first time of running districtwide, and to think that he was by and large an unknown politician who came from a hinterland (but please, don’t count yet his thousands of kabos and liners during that 2004 election).

What now with the Takasan’s green ordinance? What’s in store for the candidates in Comval in so far as their posters are concerned? Takasan’s green ordinance reinforces Comelec laws and rules on outdoor propaganda materials. But then, there are other places where candidates can run around with such Comelec rules on common posting areas especially now that we’re not yet in the local campaign period and there are these blurred, gray areas until this time following the Supreme Court’s reversal on early campaigning that virtually allows candidates to run berserk in their early campaigning including the mounting of outdoor propaganda materials.

There are the electric posts, the walls without “post no bill” warning, walls of empty, closed stores, various posts, residential fences and the like that are open targets of poster-conscious candidates. The controversial ex-police officer Cesar Mancao, for one, had made his message clear- of violating, when he massively put up his greetings poster just days before the last Christmas beating to the draw his congressional rivals Atty. Jun Lopoz of the Liberal Party and Boardmember Maricar Zamora-Apsay of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party.

But as they say, it’s still OK and you don’t have to worry over being disqualified for premature campaigning for as long as you don’t have to put the word VOTE in your greetings posters or tarpaulins. Give Cesar his due. But the problem is Cesar’s greetings poster (with his name and face who looks like either a poster boy or General Echeverri or so) really looks like an ordinary election campaign poster during the era when there was yet no such concept of Comelec common posting area.

C’mon Comelec give us also a break. Time to issue now a Comelec circular on posting of posters even as most of the local candidates are still largely making a “wait and see” on the posting of propaganda materials. But time’s up to issue now a provincial order to Cesar to remove his posters hanged and nailed in trees at his own cost. But whew, P5,000 fine is such a peanuts, but maybe imprisonment will do good again for Cesar. We knew that Boardmember Apsay has already informed Governor Chiongkee Uy of the violations. We’ll wait then for the governor’s action, and know how many of the Cesar’s posters have been hanged and nailed in trees and thus violated the Takasan’s green ordinance. As the author says, “unsay sala sa kahoy nga imong gilansangan?”. Relevantly in this electoral season and at this time of global warming, Takasan’s green ordinance is worthy to be replicated in all provinces.

BLOGS AND BITS: Maybe most local politicians are afraid yet to mount their posters, while national politicians have all the gall to mount theirs, as the former are afraid to be disqualified and become losers of politicking for a living…. Boardmember Moran Takasan said he’s not afraid to lose “kay wa nako pakasli ang politika”. Politicians should be like him…. Politicians who don’t believe on propaganda are condemned to lose and repeat running in the next election. A déjà vu message for the running pildidos in towns…. Tagum City Councilor Nickel Suaybaguio Jr is shying away from local media invitations. He’s “you see me don’t, you see me don’t now”, said one media hack. Err ….Guess, who’s this mayoral candidate who has la affairs with many women in the province? (e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: atty. jun lopoz, boardmember takasan, tagum councilor nickel suaybaguio jr, boardmember takasan, cesar mancao comval

NEWS: Lawyer Jun Lopoz bids to run vs. Maricar for Congress in Comval District 1

oct 19

The political teapot in the District 1 of Compostela Valley is currently astir as pundits and village leaders seem to go gung-ho over the scenario of a lawyer running against the daughter of the outgoing Congressman Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora whom the administration party has long billed to be unopposed in 2010 polls.

Atty. Jaime “Jun” Lopoz Jr, former Ombudsman graft investigation officer and prosecutor, formally declared at the recent before a group of barangay leaders in Montevista that he is running as “he is  just kursunada (gutsy)” to give Boardmember Maricar Zamora-Apsay “a good fight than give the honored congressman’s position to her with us just sitting down…as mute onlookers staring the father handing the crown jewel to his daughter”.

The congressional bid of Apsay, daughter of outgoing Congressman Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora, was earlier threatened by Vice Gov. Ramil Gentugay, a Lakas-Kampi-CMD partymate, but the latter backed out citing it would be divisive and would disrupt the unity of political leaders in the province under provincial aggrupation Uswag Comval led by Gov. Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy.

But Atty. Lopoz said: “We need to give meaning to election, which is about giving our people the freedom to elect the representative they want in Congress. Without choices, we deny the right of the people to choose and elect their leaders, and we lose just as we’ll just be content of what a few have chosen to arrogate in power.”

On the heels of the lawyer’s declaration the other week, already a few barangay captains in New Bataan town have reportedly expressed they are open to make their barangays “free zones” and allow barangay people decide for their own in the coming elections.

“We need a change now. Although I have been a loyal supporter of Way Kurat,  I don’t want to put pressure to my barangay people whom to vote for in 2010. Way Kurat has has no longer power after the 2010 election. Maricar and Jun are just the same- they’re both newcomers to the position, Way Kurat and Maricar are two different persons,” said a barangay captain who did not want to be identified.

The Lopoz camp also claimed that some barangay leaders in Monkayo have already launched a “peso-peso para kang Atty. Lopoz” campaign to give the lawyer “support from the masses”. “This is just for a start,” said Romelito Juson, a Lopoz volunteer.

Atty. Jun, the eldest brother of Boardmember Atty. Dexter Lopoz, has been in private lawyering practice for over ten years now following his stint as graft investigation officer and prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman for Mindanao for five years.

While he studied law at Ateneo de Davao University Law School as working student, he taught as college professor at Ateneo de Davao University and at Davao Doctors College for ten years.

He passed, first taker, the Bar exams in 1996,  thus subsequently encouraging his younger brothers to also study law, now Atty. Dexter, who topped second placer of 2000 Bar exams and Atty. Rex Lopoz, who passed, first taker, in 2006.

In his college Atty. Jun was a scholar and a popular student leader who was elected for two straight terms as president of the Supreme Student Council of MSU-IIT in Iligan City.

He had also become the Mindanao chairman of the League of Filipino Students (LFS), and had been a labor union organizer and community organizer before he decided to study law at AdDU. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

Filed under: atty dexter lopoz, atty. jun lopoz, atty. rex lopoz, maricar zamora-apsay, atty dexter lopoz, atty. jun lopoz, atty. rex lopoz, maricar zamora-apsay

ATTY. JUN LOPOZ: NO BOUNDARIES

ATTY. JUN LOPOZ: DEFINITELY RUNNING FOR CONGRESSMAN IN COMVAL’S DISTRICT 1

NO BOUNDARIES

By Kris Allen

Filed under: atty. jun lopoz, atty. jun lopoz

OPINION: Rump company for Nonoy’s sake

BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte

sept 17
It’s foremost queer, nay unique or maybe a subterfuge depending on one’s jaded eyes that a governor’s son would call for an obviously anti-administration campaign, that is his vocal support to the presidential bid of Senator Noynoy Aquino, right inside the backyard where his father sits as the top honcho of the threatened administration party now- the Lakas-CMD or Lakas-Kampi-CMD, whatever that is in Davao del Norte.
That was Anthony G. del Rosario (AGR in political nick), the former vice governor, did last week in declaring his vocal support to Noynoy at a media forum right inside the Capitol at Mankilam in Tagum. From that cue, Boardmember Antonio Lagunzad called for the same for Nonoy but not without leaving a caveat of getting first an imprimatur from the governor whom he professes to high heavens as he’s too loyal of (as though he alone is too loyal to the governor in the Capitol. What about the members of the cordon sanitaire gob?). There were also two others, an appointed one from Carmen town and the other, an elected one from Samal island, who drew a rather blurred line against the coming Lakas presidential timber as seen in a photo-op with AGR for Noynoy’s sake.
Now the Malacanang’s political operators are not again that naive. AGR’s political statements clearly mean he already burned the bridges with Arroyos, for siding with the Good than the Evil. And if Evil is Malacanang to critical writers and commentators, the Palace’s Big Brother eyes might have been already furious for the governor’s continued silence to his son’s statements and political activities that are now rocking the boat- that he is steering without an assembly of Lakas tripolantes.
The public visibility cast by such rump company of Noynoy’s supporters closely connected to the governor, who up until now is still a Lakas partidista, to borrow the oft-repeated line of last-termer 1st District Cong. Arrel Olano, only smacks an image of a divided Capitol. But pundits say that Gov. RDR can’t yet jump ship to the opposition, despite that he no longer has a “Tadeco to protect”  as leaving the administration party would open up the Lakas-Kampi-CMD up for grabs by and control of the Floirendos, the acknowledged kingmaker in the province’s District 2, leaving RDR vulnerable in his reelection bid.
For such, the spectre of seeing the governor to be mum over his son’s political stance, coupled with the spectre of him holding on at bay a political inertia, foremost of not calling for a big assembly of Lakas and Kampi leaders and members as this will exclude AGR, has now generated second guessing game in the Capitol and entire province after AGR’s health became the first that cracked up.
But this is obviously putting pressures to the governor, one from Malacanang, and the other from his partymates and the voting public as seeing him sticking it out with Lakas-Kampi-CMD, and putting no one as standard bearer for the 1st district congressional post, obviously to reserve it to AGR as possibly an adopted candidate, who is already with the opposition for now, is a height of political trickery and duplicity. This would not really sit well with an ultra-envious Malacanang, while there is this dignified option of following the path of AGR now, or putting the latter on gag order while he’s inside and working at the Capitol. Or better still, AGR has to resign as provincial employee and put up his own private political headquarters somewhere else outside the confines of the Capitol.
A private citizen AGR? Why not! That’s fine to many Noynoy’s supporters around waiting for a leader to rally for them for Noynoy’s sake.
BLOGBITS: BM Tony Lagunzad is a Coryista. He was appointed the OIC mayor in Tagum after EDSA Uno. But he was defeated by Vice Gov. Baby Suaybaguio when he ran as regular mayor, while seven of his OIC councilors won….. Now he’s at it again, wanting to jump first while asking somebody to hold him not to….. Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy did not mince his words in my last Monday interview of calling Daneco OIC GM Allan Laniba as “not right (person) to be there”. Way Labad na ana si Laniba mayor. I mean he’s also ready not to become the full-pledged Daneco….. Comval Boardmember Maricar Apsay has now a contender for the congressional post in the District 1- Atty. Jun Lopoz, former Ombudsman for Mindanao lawyer, university professor, former community organizer, ex-student activist, who has been on private practice for over 10 years. His slogan: kursunada! His battlecry: “lipay, lingaw, daug!”…… Comvalenyos are getting thrilled of Atty. Jun- Kursunda! than giving the congressional post to BM Maricar without a fight. That’s what an election, piniliay is- dapat may pilion ta! (For comments, email: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: agr del rosario, Allan Laniba, anthony rafael del rosario, atty. jun lopoz, boardmember tony lagunzad, maricar zamora-apsay, Tagum City Mayor Rey, agr del rosario, Allan Laniba, anthony rafael del rosario, atty. jun lopoz, boardmember tony lagunzad, maricar zamora-apsay, Tagum City Mayor Rey