“What about Baby S for governor?”

Sept 8-14, 2011

“What about Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio Jr running for governor also?”

This has been asked by several quarters after the Valley & City Chronicle bannered last week that Tagum City Mayor Rey “Chiong Oy” Uy is running for governor by 2013 polls if “there’s vacancy”, that is, if second-termer Governor Rodolfo del Rosario will not seek reelection.

Edgardo Pojas, a church worker in Sto. Tomas, for one, asked:  “Si Baby diay mag-unsa siya? Dapat modagan pod siya kay vice gov na gud siya”  after seeing the last week’s headline, “CEE O TO RUN FOR GOV IF…”

But while not a few in Davao del Norte Capitol are seeing that Gov. Del Rosario is still running for governor by 2013 polls but on the prospect that if President Benigno Aquino III picks the governor for a Cabinet function and should the latter accede, Vice Gov. Suaybaguio Jr is given a higher notch that would have him running for governor.

This is contemplated by pundits as a Cabinet reorganization is reported by the national media to be in the offing.

It would be recalled that when the President visited Sto. Tomas town to launch a Kalahi welfare program last September 2010 he was quoted that he would be later be tapping Gov. Del Rosario for an important function in his administration.

Provincial social welfare officer Arlene Semblante however personally  opined that she is rather seeing that the governor, who has still a last term, is bound to seek reelection in the way he actively pushes his programs for the welfare of the people in the province.

Other Capitol employees including Vice Gov. Suaybaguio, in separate interviews, are seeing the same.

The vice governor said he as the “man next after him (governor) is of course ready” to run the Capitol affairs  and implement the governor’s administration thrusts in case he serves in higher position.

But, he added, as of now he is seeing the governor to be completing all his gains and accomplishments in his third term.

Vice Gov. Suaybaguio has been noted to be a good ally of the governor visibly starting 2001 when they both won for the province’s top posts.

In that year Suaybaguio won his first vice gubernatorial term while Del Rosario wangled his first gubernatorial term under the divided, smaller Davao del Norte after serving three terms as District 3 congressman under the old undivided province.

In 2007 when Gov. Del Rosario came back to run for governor after serving as secretary of New Government Centers. He handily won in tandem again with Suaybaguio as his vice governor for their new first term. At present  the two are serving their second terms after winning handily in the last May 2010 polls under the Liberal Party of President PNoy.

As Del Rosario had been winning electoral bouts either unopposed or over no-match rivals except perhaps ex-Gov. Gelacio Gementiza who sought reelection for governor in 2007 polls, Suaybaguio on the other hand defeated his vice gubernatorial rivals each leaving them a deafening margin of over a hundred thousand votes.

In 2001 polls Suaybaguio defeated ex-Boardmember Virgilio Boiser with a margin of over 124,000 votes. He defeated rivals Boardmember Shirley Belen Aala in 2007 and ex-Boardmember Roger Israel in 2010 leaving them wide margins of over 101,000 votes and over 150,000 votes, respectively.

Truly a son of Tagum he won his first elective post as municipal councilor in 1980 and after a term he ran and won as the vice mayor before he completed his three straight terms as the municipal mayor from 1988 to 1998. Suaybaguio was the architect of the cityhood of Tagum as it was on his last term that he successfully labored to make Tagum a city worthy to be called as such for the 9 years of massive developments that the city had undergone under his leadership as shown in the market –terminal-slaughterhouse-road complex that he built  and which bustles now in the inner northern frontier of the citywhich was once an wide agricultural, forested area.

For three terms he was the president of the mayors’ league of still undivided Davao del Norte.

In 1995 polls when Suaybaguio sought for his last term his complete slate- from mayoral and vice mayoral down to councilors’candidates-  was so unopposed with zero rival not even a nuisance independent candidate in sight, a record that is still unbroken until this date. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Filed under: vice gov baby suaybaguio, Vice Governor Victorio "Baby" Suaybaguio Jr

VG, BMs MEET AT MIKO’S BREW “TO STRENGTHEN RANKS” AMIDST CISA CONTROVERSY

Feb 17-23,2011

After last week’s Tahanan dinner with RDR

TAGUM CITY- A luncheon meeting of Capitol’s legislative officials was reportedly held Wednesday at the posh Miko’s Brew resto-coffee bar intended to “strengthen their ranks” following last week’s dinner meeting with them and Governor Rodolfo del Rosario at the Tahanan ng Lalawigan at the Mankilam Capitol.

“It’s more of a fellowship meeting where we shared concerns … to strengthen our ranks,” said Floorleader Boardmember Daniel Lu in an interview.

He said that almost all of the regular and ex-officio boardmembers were present in the meeting with Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio Jr.

Councilors’ league representative Janrey Gavina, he said, managed to arrive but late, while the provincial liga ng barangay representative Vincent “Enteng” Floirendo was not around.

Other sources said that the issues on the contract controversy involving the Christian Investigation Security Agency (CISA) were tackled during the meeting, and there was apparent consensus among them to leave the issue to the Commission on Audit to decide whether it is legal or not, a stance earlier intimated to the media by Vice Gov. Suaybaguio.

Last week, Capitol’s COA auditor Susan Querequincia said that she would have to check and study yet the “signatory, legality and scope of the contract” and in two weeks time she could have her audit findings bared to the local media.

Also last week, the vice governor reiterated that he is “leaving to the decision of COA” the issue as to whether the security services contract signed between the governor and the CISA is legal or not.

When pressed to comment anew on the transaction that had him and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan apparently bypassed by some executive department officials led by provincial administrator Rufo Peligro, the vice governor said he better not comment further except saying that he did not know in details the transaction as he was not formally informed by Peligro and was not furnished even of a single bidding and award document nor was there a Notice to Proceed to CISA as required by the new government procurement law.

Earlier, as to the claim of provincial Bids and Awards Committee chairman Samson Sanchez that they “could not afford the vacuum of security services” when the contract was awarded to CISA on Dec. 28, 2010 and implemented four days after on Jan. 1, 2011, the vice governor said that considering there was a need yet to assure the papers relating the transaction he could have called in then the assistance of the provincial police to beef up the remaining 17 permanent security personnel in protecting the Capitol complex while all requirements under the law on government procurement have yet to be completed and the issue of the contract’s legality like as to whether the contract has to pass the provincial board or not is yet to be resolved.

“Whatever would happen to the Capitol, by command responsibility, I am responsible to it,” he said the last week referring to Dec. 20, 2010 to January 8, 2011 when he served as the acting governor as the governor travelled to the United States to visit his son District 1 Congressman Anthony del Rosario in time of the Christmas Season.

Both Peligro and Sanchez said the transaction is legal and that they were duly following procedures spelled by the new government procurement law.
At presstime, the Valley & City Chronicle tried but failed get comments about the Miko’s meeting from the vice governor.

But the meeting has fueled speculations from pundits that it might have been an offshoot of the last Tuesday evening dinner with the governor at Tahanan where the latter reportedly gave much of the talk about the task of the SP than drawing the concerns of the attending 9 regular boardmembers in the midst of the controversy about the sudden awarding and implementation of the CISA’s contract.

In that meeting, sources said, the vice governor reportedly aired his side and some issues of the legislative department.

Boardmember Antonio Lagunzad was not present in the dinner-meeting. But days after the meeting, sources added that Lagunzad had told a boardmember he did not attend the affair fearing “they might be scolded by the governor.”

Reports said that the Tahanan dinner-meeting, called in a news report as a “patching up” meeting to “resolve perceived differences”, failed yet to resolve the CISA contract controversy.

It would be recalled that the governor had earlier charged to questioning SP members to be “grandstanding” and “had overstepped on their responsibility as local legislators when they insisted the presence of two of his most trusted lieutenants before the august body.”

The “two of his most trusted lieutenants” are reportedly Peligro and Sanchez, who were earlier tagged to have bypassed Suaybaguio, who was the acting governor when the contract was bidded and awarded to CISA last Dec. 20 and Dec. 28, respectively.
Gov. Del Rosario also said that he does “not care if they do grandstanding everyday. But, if it affects the integrity of the executive branch, we cannot allow them to go ahead and step on our toes.”

But the governor’s media statements did not sit well to the boardmembers, one of whom told earlier this paper that instead of issuing such “he should have instead investigated his men who put him in the bad light.”

The governor’s “grandstanding” charges to the SP followed when earlier several boardmembers riled and slammed Peligro and CISA owner Rolando dela Cruz for snubbing their invitation to shed light on the CISA’s contract, which is being questioned for being allegedly rushed by Peligro and the provincial BAC last late December and implemented on Jan. 1, 2011 bypassing the power of Acting Gov. Suaybaguio to issue the Notice to Proceed to CISA.

Boardmember Alan Dujali also earlier dropped a Supreme Court ruling in a Cebu provincial case which in his view was pertinent for the security services contract to pass first for the prior authority of the SP before the governor’s signing of the contract with the CISA.

The privatization of the security services in the Capitol with the CISA’s entry had thrown out over 60 contractual security personnel from their work as the governor deactivated the Civil Security Services. (cha monforte)

Filed under: vice gov baby suaybaguio, CORRUPTION CASES IN DAVAO DEL NORTE COMPOSTELA VALLEY

OPINION: Tough class acts of Pros Amatong

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

Nov 24

The last time I got an opportunity to interview today’s best known provincial elder-statesman Prospero “Pros” Amatong was in the late 80s, when he was still the governor of the erstwhile undivided Davao del Norte. That time I was then with the defunct Northern Star published by late Cesar “Rasec” Sotto. Thursday was like the same day repeating in terms of ambiance in my interview with him in the 80s.

The grand old man in Davao del Norte-Comval politics was still at his signature form at home: he donned pure cotton white shirt and shorts, while Ma’am Luz sit nearby. The same – he has been smoking menthol then and now. For all those greatest political and electoral feats after over 4 decades in public service, Pros Amatong remains down-to-earth and charismatic, speaks candid, terse jab, punch lines and unleashes keen political thoughts, while the Amatong ancestral house in Purok 3, Nabunturan remains largely the same inside: wooden, archaic and its kitchen downstairs can still be seen from the sala. Nabunturan’s greatest father is unblemished: not a single Ombudsman complaint, not even from anonymous complainant, has been filed against him in his 45 years of public service.

He’s one unscathed after serving as Nabunturan councilor (3 years), Nabunturan mayor (14 years, 2 years in New Corella), undivided Davao del Norte governor (9 years), District 2 Comval congressman (9 years), 2 years as project manager of the Philippine National Oil Corp. and 6 years as project engineer of the then Bureau of Public Works, his first stint in government.

He has two episodes when his mandate was cut short: the first on September 28, 1977 when he was purged by dictator Marcos for being with the opposition and replaced by Vice Mayor Zosimo Bugas who served for 4 years, and on March 31, 1986, after reclaiming his mayoral seat in 1980 polls, when he was appointed by President Cory Aquino as the OIC governor of the Davao del Norte.

Now at 77, Nabunturan’s kingmaker visibly remains yet so influential in town and even the whole province despite his exit from political corridor of power in 2007. “When I say I’ll no longer run, I’ll not run,” he says in vernacular adding that he differs to others who make a lot of fuss over their political decisions. His decision of no longer running for office in 2007 polls is tough class act of seasoned and experienced politician. But from it, he bequeathed his political power to his successor son now Cong. Rommel “Bobong” Amatong. At a time when he retired began the baptism of fire in politics of his political heir. All out of the service-rich patriarch, the neophyte scion becomes a shoo in. This shows though particularly for Davao del Norte now that there were no two or more Amatongs holding the reins of power at the same time.

In the circles of politicians and barangay kapitans asking for projects from him, his bluntness is well known. Davao del Norte Vice Gov. Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio recalls that when Amatong fumed anger he surely would give the proponent the project requested. “It’s like a situation of a father scolding a son,” Suaybaguio says as he recalls how Amatong counterparted much for the province when he built Totit during VG Baby’s stint as Tagum mayor.

It’s in Amatong’s brand of management that government projects must always be placed on the ground based on “felt need”. Same words then and now. Visibly this is one of the cornerstones why he stayed long in public office. “The felt need is determined by experience,“ he says. When he went on a spree of opening new roads and building bridges in farthest villages across the then undivided Davao del Norte after EDSA Uno people power, he ended up beloved by many not only in Comval but also in Davnor. As to one of the values he holds dear, he talks on the need of a no-changing character that must be in place in every politician regardless of the stardom status one may have reached in his political career. But, he added, it should be the people themselves who’ll remind politicians in power who’ve changed in character.
After all those punishing years in public service, include there Jun Pala’s Kumander Puti witchhunt when he became the OIC Davnor Gob, the acknowledged Comval father Pros Amatong remains oozing with charisma and gems of political thoughts despite that he’s gone south of his age now. But by and large, as I see him now, he’s one great political statesman-elder, who has rich legacies that have reshaped towns and provinces and vast experience as a vintage master politician behind him from whom today’s provincial and local politicians ought to take stock of for advice if not emulation. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com, or ruralurbanews@yahoo.com)

Filed under: provincial elder-statesman prospero amatong, vice gov baby suaybaguio, davao del nrote vice gov. baby suaybaguio, former cong. prospero amatong, former governor prospero amatong, provincial elder-statesman prospero amatong