BY RUEL CAMBA
THE results of the recent gubernatorial race in
Pangasinan should serve as a clarion call for the incumbent leadership at
Capitol to double down on efforts to directly cater to the manifold needs of
the grassroots. In a way, the electoral outcome served as a referendum on the
professed “legacy” programs and projects of Gov. Ramon “Mon-Mon” Guico III.
These include the Pangasinan Link Expressway, Pangasinan Polytechnic College,
hospital modernization including the Guiconsulta program, Pangasinan Salt Center,
re-developlment of the Capitol area, etc.Gov. Monmon Guico
It has become crystal clear that more Pangasinenses wanted him to proceed with the said programs and projects than those who were opposed. But the depleted margin the governor had eked out (96,837 votes out of 1,665,777 cast for governor) underscores an issue that his opponent exploited to the hilt: weak foothold in the grassroots. In 2022, challenger Ramon V. Guico III pulled out an upset against then sitting Gov. Amado Espino, Jr. via (some said it was a landslide) a margin of 187, 807 votes. That mandate gave him the green light to carry out his grand vision for Pangasinan. He envisioned the province to be the “Singapore of the North”, with modernistic features, agriculturally prosperous, a trailblazer in health care delivery and education, a financial heavyweight, and a premier tourist Mecca.
But
the exhaustive, grinding and lengthy planning process had its toll. Grassroots
concerns were mostly relegated to the back burner for the time being. The
opposition saw this as a chink in the supposedly formidable armor the governor
has forged out of political alliances. It then became inevitable for his
enemies to unleash through the broadcast
and social media a barrage of vicious, malicious, and mind-boggling black
propaganda that portrayed his administration as kind of corrupt, heartless,
spiteful and profligate. As it tuned out, the majority of the Pangasinan voters
in last month’s elections saw otherwise as they fittingly thumbed down the
duplicity and deceit let out by his foes, and gave him a second term.
Dirtiest
In my
more than four decades of journalism practice, I have never witnessed so
contemptible, deceptive, vicious, and virulent
a campaign propaganda unleashed against a sitting governor in Pangasinan
as what was set in motion during the May 2025 polls. This makes me wonder how one could
unabashedly profess to serve the public good when he is wallowing in
wicked ways that include dishonesty and trickery.
Right at the start
of the campaign period, Governor Guico’s opponents lost no time in engaging in
pernicious smear drive encompassing blatant lies, shameless deception, barefaced manipulation of information, and
distortion of truth, partial truths, twisting of the truth, and spin. For
instance, they accused the governor of pocketing a sizeable amount from Philhealth’s
Konsulta fund of P1,700 per beneficiary. Of course, that claim was a far
cry from the truth, an outright fabrication which the Philhealth executives
strongly debunked again and again.
Almost all of Gov.
Guico’s major development thrusts, from hospital modernization to providing
free tertiary education to the Pangasinan youth, were not spared from the
gruesome propaganda blitzkrieg reminiscent of the reign of Adolf Hitler in
Germany. Remember what Joseph Goebbels, the brilliant but notorious Nazi
propagandist, crowed about? He said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people
will believe it.” He paused then continued,
“and you will even come to believe it yourself.” That’s exactly what happened to the
governor’s detractors during the poll campaign.
Candor and honesty
were sidelined in the battle to dominate the news and to win votes. There was
an overdose of lies and deception employed by the opposition to discredit the
governor’s major development thrusts. And that by and large explains the
depleted polling margin the governor obtained.
Of course,
deception in politics is nothing new. What’s new was the degree to which it was
played to the hilt by the governor’s enemies. Their primordial goal was not to
serve the general welfare, far from it, but to perpetuate the destructive game
of power and influence. The governor’s adversaries seemingly were incapable of
making proper distinction between truth and falsehood. Or they knew the truth but
chose to ignore or distort it. Through hired digital crackpots, they managed to
spin out threads upon threads of fake news and all sorts of chicaneries, all
for the purpose of debasing, vilifying and demonizing the governor. But the
tactic misfired and, as I expected, failed.
Biblical Relevance
A man made of
lesser stuff may have easily cracked up from the weight of that kind of
horrendous smear drive launched at the governor. Provincial Administrator Ely
Patague II, who has been with Gov. Ramon
Guico III for more than two decades, working with him through numerous
political battles and overcoming countless odds and challenges, admitted
bluntly that the recent political battle was the toughest for them.
“Mabuti na lang at
matibay, malakas, at malalim ang pondasyon ni Governor Mon-Mon Guico. ..Siya ay
leader na tunay na matatag at may takot at pagmamahal sa Panginoon,” he shared.
To him, Mon-Mon Guico is that person with strong character and determination
who can overcome obstacles and setbacks, gifted by God with inner strength and
integrity, and raised in a family steeped with spirituality, love and respect.
According to
Pastor Emmanuel Manansala, renowned Senior Servant of the Live In Victories
Ministries Philippines, the ascension of Ramon V. Guico III as governor of
Pangasinan has biblical significance.
Invited in
Binalonan town as inspirational speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of the governor’s
father, Rep. Ramon Guico Jr., Pastor Manny, as he is fondly called by friends,
underscored the biblical importance of salt and light to sustain life as
ordained by our Creator. We all know that Pangasinan has been the biggest
producer of salt and now one of the biggest solar energy producers (light) in
the country.
Pastor Manny
emphasized the importance of salt with its countless uses ranging from the
manufacture of food stuff, chemicals, medicines, and other commodities to
serving as preservative. Without salt, he pointed out, most of our dishes would
be unpalatable or inedible. Salt, he added, has a prophetic significance on
Pangasinan as referred to in the Bible. He cited Matthew 5-13 which says: “You
are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trampelled underfoot.”
According to
Pastor Manny, despite its having some 36,000 kilometers of shoreline the
Philippines is currently importing about
93 percent of its annual salt needs. So, he praised the governor for his
foresight and audacity in pursuing the establishment of the Pangasinan Salt
Center aimed at sustaining the province’s position as the biggest salt producer
nationwide, thereby helping ease the country’s dependency of imported salt.
In the same vein,
Pastor Manny explained the biblical relevance of Governor Guico’s recent
electoral triumph by quoting Matthew 5-14: “You are the light of the world. A
town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put
it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I join Pastor
Manny in saying that Governor Mon-Mon Guico was re-elected because God has a purpose
for Pangasinan being a major producer of salt and light (solar energy).
“God created
Pangasinan, put it in the map, chose Pangasinan to be a major salt and light
producer in the country, and chose you to be its leader for the next three
years… God wants Pangasinan to experience shalom (peace), because without peace
there would be no prosperity,” he concluded.
I wish to add what
is said in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is
the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” The Lord, speaking through the people, wants
Pangasinan to have genuine prosperity and progress under the stewardship of
Governor Mon-Mon Guico III. So be it.
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