By Mortz C. Ortigoza
I was at a party recently and my politically perceptive
friend and I talked about the power-play of personalities in a particular first
class town.
In the last election the then incumbent mayor there - whose father was
into a big time construction business with the provincial government -
The former hizzoner failed his reelection bid because his P1,500 per voter buying spree among the tens of thousands of electorates ran short to the rival who bought votes at P2,000 per voter.
Salamabit, it happened in the 2019 election where the workaholic
mayor lost because she votes’ buy at P2,500 each of the electorates while her
rival shelled out P3,000 per voter. The mostly vulnerable, gullible, and
corrupt voters forget her mammoth accomplishments in her six years’ stint and
vote instead the other mayorship bet because he outbidded her by P500.
I told my pal in that party – where we quaffed Johnny Walker
- that superiority of money against an opponent is not a not a sine qua non in winning the reelection
if the two duke out in the 2025 mayorship derby.
“Look at that
multi-millionaire mayor of another municipality,” I cited. Despite the
wherewithal, the hizzoner still lost to the challenger – a former mayor – because
the voters just took the monies of the incumbent in the eve of the poll but
vote for the rival who could empathize with their feelings and insecurities.
The beaten brash mayor – reports reached me – had the propensity to embarrass
the department heads and staff of the local government unit and even tore a
document of a barangay chairman who made a call at the office.
“I resigned in
September when the mayor sat in June 30 (2019). I saw how the chief executive
berated and humiliated even the department heads in public. I don't want to give the mayor a chance to embarrass me, too,” a lady staff,
who was identified with the former hizzoner, told me on conditioned of anonymity when I bumped into her.
But to the mayor who bought vote at P1,500 but lost in the
May 13, 2022 election, he can recapture the municipal perch in May 2025 if the
present occupant emulates the overbearing attitude of that sitting mayor who
lost.
“Whatever amount of
wherewithal you have if the masa could not stomach your attitude, they will
just get your money and vote for your opponent who have inferior capacity to
buy the preference of the voters,” my friend opined.
The chance of the former young mayor to capture the
municipal hall is dim, my pal added however. He has no job to earn him funds
for his next bid.
He just piggy back on the wealth of his parent. A phenomenon
in Philippines politics where even an “idiotic” daughter or wife can be a Congress member or whatever because the family is in power already or has tens
of millions of pesos to bankroll the hustings.
Nincompoop politician wins because idiotic voters can be
bought – I usually quipped in an animated huddle with with pals or while we swigged booze.
“His father, a
contractor, is out of his lucrative business too because his patron the then governor has been yanked out of
office in the last May election,” I added.
This rich source of fund was one of the reasons the young
mayor bludgeoned his uncle – a seasoned long reigning mayor in the burgeoning
town – in the May 2016 election and decked out his challenger cousin – a former
hizzoner, too – in the 2019 poll.
READ MY OTHER BLOG:
One of the Best Experiences in My Life
MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA
I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.
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