By Mortz C. Ortigoza
The 2019 local election will be costly for some
candidates running for election and reelection in the 44 towns and three cities’
province of Pangasinan, a town mayor cited.
The mayor, who asked anonymity, said a gubernatorial aspirant needs
about half-a-billion pesos just to buy votes to ingratiate from the voters and the mayors.
“Ilagay mo
Five Million Pesos allocation sa 44 town mayors, that will be P220 million. How
about the five million pesos for each of the 44 towns where the candidate will
buy votes? That will be another P220 million. How much will be the total
expenses? A staggering P440 million!” he cited.
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A bag that contains millions of pesos used by a
politician to buy votes in the Philippines. |
He said the almost half – a-billion price tag will not be enough to
effectively clinch the provincial diadem, he needs another hundreds of millions
to have an edge in a poll where wherewithal counts as the silver bullet.
Some sources have been speculating that either former Congressman Mark
C. Cojuangco or Abono Party List Representative Conrad Estrella will challenge
Governor Amado Espino III in the next year’s poll.
The scion of Business Magnate Danding Cojuangco (Forbes' 11th richest with P67.6 billion assets) is rumored too to
reclaim his Fifth Congressional Post now under Congressman Amado T. Espino, Jr.
who is the father of the governor with the same namesake.
Estrella has been stumping lately the mammoth province with some senators
and senatorial wannabes.
Last Tuesday, Cojuangco told an ex-mayor that he will be meeting his
loyal political leaders in Pangasinan if he will be throwing his hat again in
the provincial arena comes 2019, the mayor said.
The former congressman, the source said, was with two Australian investors
who are looking for a site for their multi-billion pesos business.
In the 2016 governorship election, the mayor cited, one candidate spent
P400 million while the other candidate spent P1 billion.
“With a candidate
who has a billion pesos in this election, he can still damage his opponent
despite the latter winning the race.” he cited.
Political scientists called that scenario as Pyrrhic victory. It
is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the winner that it
is tantamount to defeat.
"It can make or unmake a politico," he cited.
The mayor said however that political spectators should look to a reelectionist
congressman or his spouse.
“Congressmen
now under the fund - rich Build-Build-Build Project of Duterte average to have
P1.5 billion a year allocation from the national government”.
He computed that if a solon gets 15 percent as SOP or cut from that
P1.5 billion, he or she will have P225 million a year or P675 million in his
or her three years’ stint.
“That’s a
lot of monies he can pour to the villages, the towns, and cities for the voters
and the loyalty of the mayors to support him”.
He said that he was not yet including on his list the lobby monies the congressmen
get from big businesses to sway their stance on their legislative works at the August Chamber.
With payolas that once swelled the pockets of elected officials from illegal
number game jueteng mitigated under the Duterte Administration, the congressmen
have more monies than the other elective officials as the source compared the
S.O.Ps of these officials on their 20 percent Development Funds of their annual
appropriation budget.
In the six congressional districts in the province, three congressmen
will end their term in 2019.
Either of their spouses or kin will succeed them by throwing their hats
on the congressional election, the mayor told reporters.
(You can read my selected columns at mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
