By Mortz C. Ortigoza
I was in my rustic town M’lang,
Cotabato Province when the official campaign period for local elective
officials for the May 13, 2019 Election started.
It started in March 29 and will end
45 days thereafter in May 11.
Last Saturday, market day there, I
dropped by at the Post World War II house near the plaza of my California based
brother when a campaign rally of the PDP –Laban lead by the province’s
gubernatorial bet Nancy Catamco, a last term member of the House of
Representatives, and the town mayor lawyer Russel Abonado.
The acrimonious campaign rally in the Philippines. |
During the initial verbal joust by
the provincial board member bet Maybelle
Valdivieso, I, clad in my Doc Martens boots with their yellow laces, tee
he, even went to the stage before the thousands of spectators as based on the
mountain of packed lunches there from the 37 villages of the town when I saw my
younger brother, a former military professor at the PMA, exchanged pleasantries
with Maybelle who just lambasted the poor services of the provincial hospital
under the watch of Governor Lala Talino.
When my sibling introduced me to
Valdivieso, I told her she was good in rabble rousing.
“You’re feisty”! I quipped to her.
You know readers I loved listening
to excellent verbally endowed individuals specially to guys like former Senator
Ruding Ganzon, former five-time House Speaker Joe de Venecia, German Reichstag fiery speaker the Herr Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, who even
practice his feet stomping and hand waving and lectern hitting speeches, Cuba’s
Fidel Castro, U.S Third Army Son of a B*tch Three-Star General George Patton, who told his troops in a pep talk before the invasion of Normandy to
extract German intestines so they could use them as grease for their tanks’ road
wheels and iron links and others.
Even in Pangasinan, I was surprised
that vice gubernatorial bet Angel Baniqued was emphatic when he rocked the
crowd in a fiesta in Mangaldan with words: Aya
si abogado Angel Baniqued para vice gubernador yad inar-aro tayon nga
probinsiyad Pangasinan! (This is lawyer Angel Banique for vice governor of our
beloved province Pangasinan). Forgive me son of a gun for my stuttered
Pangasinan wannabe dialect but that’s what he vigorously declared incessantly
before the hoi polloi.
The crowd went wild to the gift of gab,
just like those rabble rousing American evangelists like slut loving Jimmy Swaggart, of
Baniqued – a seasoned provincial board member from San Carlos City.
I thought before the scientific
survey of a proven pollster friend, Angel would be thrashed and thwacked by his well oiled vice governorship rival Nationalist People’s Coalition Mark Lambino.
But the result showed that Baniqued
eclipsed the wet behind the ears Lambino who run,
just like his mayoral bet mother in Mangaldan as political kibitzers see it, as a product of the powerful
position given to his father Cagayan Economic Zone Czar Secretary Raul Lambino by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The polls should be a wake up call
for the Lambinos to double time as they are pitted with a feisty speaker.
Let’s go back to my hometown.
“Siling nila dapat ang M’lang ay dapat maging Carmen. Pero
ang Department of Trade and Industry ay nagpaguwa nga ang M’lang ay Top 25 nga
Most Competitive First Class Town sa bilog nga 1,488 nga banwa sa bilog
nga Pilipinas. Karon, diin ang Carmen? (They said M’lang town has a lot to
catch up with Carmen town. But according to the Department of Trade &
Industry, M’lang was among the Top 25 Most Competitive First Class Town among
the more than 1,000 municipalities in the Philippines. Now, where is Carmen?)” dig by M’lang reelective mayor
Russel Abonado as I took photo of him at the old stage located at the town
plaza.
He belittled Carmen, the town of
governorsip bet and Mayor Roger Talino, a big time retired PC Master Sergeant from Bayambang,
Pangasinan, whose daughter Lala will be ending her last term on June 30 as nine
years governor of the one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.
Salamabit, every time I passed by Davao
del Sur and North Cotabato bound to my town I became gloomy inside the vehicle
looking at the surroundings as dilapidated houses are sparsely located unlike
in the densely located jungle concrete specially in Central Luzon and even
Central Pangasinan where investors and residents keep building their edifices
near the roadways.
“Walang masyadong malalaking mga bahay sa lugar ninyo sa
Mindanao,” quipped by my wife Miles, who grew
up in Pangasinan and Makati City, when I brought her and my two kids last June
in the war torn Island.
“Dahil kasi takot mga investors pumunta dito sa lugar naman
dahil magulo,” I
retorted.
I hope the newly approved Bangsamoro
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where the local government unit
run by Moro brothers will have more privileges on tax collection up to 75
percent they will retain on the income of local resources, will be a magic
bullet to end the perennial warfares between the Christians and the Muslims
that broke up in the late 1960s.
READ MY OTHER ARTICLE:
(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
The House Speaker and I on Ali
(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
Celemar Gentica: I didn’t know that North Cotabato is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. ??? Although I haven’t been to Mlang for several years now, I think it is progressing basing on what I’ve heard.
ReplyDeleteMark Machiavelli Ortigoza: Celemar Gentica based sa data ng NEDA like Samar, Maguindanao, Abra, Ifugao, Basilan, Jolo others
Celemar Gentica: Mark Machiavelli Ortigoza it is sad to know.
Celemar Gentica Mark Machiavelli Ortigoza Im just curious, is it based on economic growth? Or based on what reason(s)?
Noy Lab Anque Kasi Ang nagproprogreso ay bulsa ng mga politikos. Kaya ngayong eleksyon mas magando siguro bigyan ng pagkakataon Ang mga bagito sa politika.
Celemar Gentica Noy Lab Anque who are the new comers?
Noy Lab Anque: Celemar Gentica waay gid haw? Atong mga waay sa posisyon nila karon. mga Indi incumbent o waay kaagi sa Ina nga position. Waay gid maayo mapilian haw?
Noy Lab Anque: Celemar Gentica Ang Indi incumbent o reshuffled sa position. Waay gid haw?
Celemar Gentica: Noy Lab Anque that’s so sad ๐. Even though I don’t live their anymore I want our province to prosper. I still have families there so I want it to progress just like other provinces.
Mark Machiavelli Ortigoza Celemar Gentica if I remember poverty threshold like gross domestic product (GDP) of the province divided by its population. Tapos inang kuarta per capita or tawo used as basis kung nasa above, below Poverty Line. A lot of poor are in these provinces. Siyempre lack of investors kaya less ang circulation ng money kaya damo poor kasi wala work. As I cited sa article ko, more buildings in Central Luzon while sparse in North Cotabato one of the indicators that our province is poor. Also, former Guv Pinol said during his time Poverty Threshold of North Cotabato was X Level but worsen during Guv Lala Talino's stint.
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Mark Machiavelli Ortigoza Celemar Gentica may column ako diri e post ko di pag may wifi na. Siguro sa airport na . Title Why We Are Poor
Angelo B. Palmones: Whoever invited this stupid blogger is insulting the people of North Cotabato. He tossed up his sponsors with flowery piece by pulling down the efforts of all people of NCot. Better research will guide you boy on how many products of my beloved province are now sold abroad. Violence is more prevalent in Metro Manila, check your stat before making generalization. North Cotabato is not M’lang!
ReplyDeleteLuvin Candari Hehe Mortz Ortigoza..
Mortz Ortigoza: Sabton tana kung sino mas stupid sa amon ni Angelo . The son of a gun was shooting from the hips. I only need to cite a NEDA report in my column. LUvin Candari is smarter than this congressional has- been. Im going to school him he he he