OPINION: The agreement

BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte

Now it can be told that Compostela Valley Vice Gov. Ramil Gentugaya had earlier pledged not to run for Congress. I finally chanced upon Cong. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora at his base in Compostela town the other day and I got what I’ve long wished from him – to interview him tete-a-tete. To me, it was one of the rarest so I threw questions or lose him again.

There I got news right from the horses’ mouth, and what struck me was his information that VG Ramil, Gov. Chiongkee Uy, Boardmember Maricar and Cong. Way Kurat had already forged a prior agreement to avoid wrangling in the future and this is for VG Ramil to seek for his reelection as vice gov and for BM Maricar to run for the congressional post that his father is finishing to serve until 2010.

“That was the day after we took our oath of office,” Cong. Way Kurat recalled. And “I’ll stick to that (agreement),” he added.

I surfed the net when was really that, and lo, the joint oathtaking of newly elected Comval officials was June 30, 2007 (the twilight sky on that festive day was so colorful compliments of the fireworks display heralding the new administration themed in by Uswag Comval slogan). And so, the Ramil-Maricar-Chiongkee-Way Kurat agreement must be July 1, 2007. (Sorry, in my rush of writing a so good news the other day at an internet café in the interior Compostela town I missed to include the date, especially that a paying time is running against me).

When I reached his base at Compostela, Comval’s most popular politician Way Kurat, for ostensibly putting the province in the country’s map by his down-to-earth, newsworthy scenes and brims, was there in shorts and shirts calling up the Singapore embassy chancellor in Manila to help a distressed Comvalenya from Barangay Ngan, Compostela who was earlier imprisoned there but who could no longer be contacted by her relatives. The Singaporean official Cong. Way Kurat called as “my friend” pledged to help.

Things are revealing now particularly when reports were heard for sometime  that the governor had confided to several Lakas partymates and allies about his difficulties in walking in a tightrope just to keep the Comval unity surging given that he had already a prior commitment to BM Maricar. Ostensibly, this must be the continuation of the Cong. Way Kurat’s revelation that the governor has already “said his piece” and “Maricar is his choice”.

Cong. Way Kurat must have been optimistic still that the fortified Lakas-CMD would remain united with a powerhouse unity slate and that for the present running tiff between VG Ramil and BM Maricar over his post to end.  “The solution was already made,” he said referring to that July 1, 2007 agreement. He quipped that after I offered a scenario of BM Maricar running for the vice governor’s post and him for Compostela mayoral post, to keep the peace. It’s no-no, but for a win-win, VG Ramil must stick to the agreement.

But verily, Cong. Way Kurat is quite confident that VG Ramil will honor the agreement. “He is a good gentleman who has a word of honor… as well as the governor.” He knew VG Ramil too much, “from a good boy to a good man ….to a good politician and good leader in the province.”

With modesty, the congressman said that he molded VG Ramil in his political career starting when he was still the SK federation honcho after BM Maricar’s SK stint in the erstwhile undivided Davao del Norte. No wonder that the VG in his 2004 inaugural speech at Nabunturan Compre gym singled out and paid tribute to Way K with words as “my idol, my mentor”. That was the time when Gob. CK was first elected as a BM allied with ex-Gob. Joecab who defeated a token gubernatorial bet Trino Tirol.

From that interview, I also learned that the congressman and Monkayo Mayor Manuel “Junjun” Brillantes have no running feud between them and that they are seeing eye to eye and with a twosome of them leveling off . And that’s a far cry compared to the vice governor talking to the mayor only with a group, he said. But maybe the congressman is referring to the Friday Club at Marco. BM Maricar, too, is accordingly in constant communication with the mayor’s brother Lito and sister Olaycon Kapitana, Diel. I stand too apprised and updated now, thanks, but for a couple of weeks or so, I’ll wait for VG’s statement after the honeymoon with his beauteous, intelligent, Unilab executive better half- Joanna Ang-Gentugaya.

BLOGBUZZ: We still have to hear news after the scheduled meeting of the provincial directorate of Lakas-CMD in  Comval. Its chair is the governor, being the provncial Lakas chairman, with the other officers: vice chair- District 2 Cong. Rommel “Bobong” Amatong, secretary- BM Maricar, treasurer- VG Ramil, and the chairmen of the 5 committees held by Cong. Way K, Compostela Mayor Rey Castillo, New Bataan Mayor Lorenzo “Boy” Balbin, Nabunturan Mayor Macario “Dodong” Humol,    and Laak Mayor Rey “Reynab” Navarro, and provincial elder Pros Amatong as a member emeritus with also 1 vote like the rest…. Heard from the rounds after the NBI raid on the suspected culprit establishment where the UM Tagum sex scandal was camcorded. A lass just informed me, “Kuya di man to sex toy penis sa sex scandal nga na-mention nimo sa imong series of news ato, but a plastic container of Her Bench lotion.” I thought that Bench is only known of selling branded shirts and polos. For that, Bench company should better review the forms of its product containers at the risk of selling unwanted objects that someone may hold dear. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, email: ruralurbanews@yahoo.com, or chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: boardmember maricar zamora-apsay, brillantes, compostela, comval congressmen, comval officials, comval politics, comval unity, cong way kurat zamora, cong. bobong amatong, congressman rommel amatong, laak mayor rey navarro, maricar apsay, new bataan, new bataan mayor lorenzo balbin, ramil gentugaya, ramil gentugaya wedding, trino tirol, vice governor ramil gentugaya, way kurat, way kurat zamora , boardmember maricar zamora-apsay, gov. chiongkee uy, nbi tagum tagum sex scandal, provincial elder pros amatong, tagum sex scandal update, tagum sex video scandal, vice gov ramil gentugaya

The paradox of being no-good politicos

Blogista

By Cha Monforte

Good-natured, honest observations are being heaped now on the leadership of Monkayo Mayor Manuel “Junjun” Brillantes Jr. and Maragusan Mayor Cesar Colina Sr. Friends in political circles just commented that although the two mayors are not college graduates yet they are excelling in managing the affairs of and modernizing their respective municipalities. They’re accomplishing and moving things unexpected of them. They’re both businessmen. They’re even seen as bullies and no-good politicos.

They’re unlike the traditional politicians who want to please and waive their hands to everybody, even to the carabaos in the ricefields, so that their friendly pogi image would be maintained and kept their political career ever shining in public. This type is sticky in our politics.

We have seen a plenty of them who belong to this trapo mold among incumbent mayors in Comval and Davao del Norte, and on how they reached their consecutive three terms. One of whom is Nabunturan Mayor Macario Humol, who in his last term, at this late – surprise?- wants to modernize his town via an exorbitant P90-million bond flotation for the construction of a new market building right at the heart of his town. The mayor is a do-gooder, compromise- and nod-adept centrist. He got his agricultural college degree far up from Central Mindanao University in Bukidnon.

They say he keeps rolling up his sleeves since he tasted his first term and has accomplished a lot. But aged true-blue Nabunturanons now are now questioning what he has got to accomplish in his three terms when they still see the same face of their hometown since they were still boys and girls who came running naked on the cemented Arabejo street during rainy days.

Which brings us to the great facelift of Monkayo under the two terms of current Mayor Brillantes. This mayor engaged in bank loans to construct a modern munisipyo and public market, well-paved municipal road, launch a good solid waste management program and refurbish well the old gymnasium at the town center.

He is now reportedly busy attacking the problem of not having potable water and the inadequacy of water systems in the barangays. He placed these gargantuan projects out from a bank borrowing that has fix and smaller interest rates and not from the so-called bond flotation that many don’t understand, and in Nabunturan case, puts the local government in grossly disadvantageous position, which is violative to the anti-graft law.

We heard the PNB is moving on to Mayor Brillantes to pay the balance of his old loan by letting him borrow a bigger amount reportedly to the tune of P150 million so he could further modernize his town.

As to Maragusan Mayor Colina, a first termer, he already has street-smart sounding governance battlecy, “Atsop Maragusan!” This colloquial vernacular word is a greeting of like being enthralled to something. It’s about appreciation, attraction, beauty. It expresses Colina’s personality of being like a street-smart while being a cola magnate as he has been. Colina is it! Besides constructing a new 96-stall public market which replaced the one that was gutted by a fire two years ago at a cost of only P3.4 million from his own municipal coffers (look ma, no bank borrowing, no bond float), he is reportedly now busy in paving all the streets in the poblacion. Atsop gyud bay! Somebody commented who just went down from the town which is touted as the Baguio of Davao Region.

Here lies a paradox of being no-good politicos: non- trapo mayors are modernizing their towns at cost-effective and efficient manner and blazing new, innovative trails in governance against the usual barriers of resources, while the trapo ones are sustaining if not stagnating the spatial makeup of their towns and are always drawn into the whirlpool of traditional, non-trendsetting governance.

It really counts a lot when you introduce and complete a facelift in places long known to be old and stagnant. What a wonder it brings and ushers to an expectant populace. Such breezes through our imagination and captures a snapshot of the leader’s vision. Maybe it’s because Brillantes and Colina are both businessmen? But no, Carmen Mayor Marcelino Perandos in Davao del Norte isn’t. He is only once a municipal registrar. He’s too a no-good politico. But look what a facelift he made for his flood-prone town only during the first year of his first term. He got his munisipyo, lawn and bus terminal sparkling and noticeable. Kodus to them. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com)

Filed under: brillantes, colina, maragusan, monkayo , brillantes, colina, maragusan, monkayo