THE RAIDING GAME JUST STARTED THIS EARLY
By Mortz C. Ortigoza
After
the parley between the camps of the Opposition called
United Lights of Pangasinan (Ulopan)
lead by Fifth District Congressman Ramon “Monmon” Guico and
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) and Presidential Adviser for
Northern Luzon Secretary Raul Lambino and the Patriarch and Matriarch
of the de Venecia family whose son Congressman Toff de Venecia is
running for reelection, the two warring camps particularly the
Lambinos - who became the brunt of the virulent attacks by trolls
friendlier to the de Venecia - are already quiet.
“All quiet on the Western Front, er
Central Pangasinan, eh?” to rephrase the World War -1's German
soldiers quip “Im
Westen nichts Neues, lit"
about
their extreme
physical and mental stress in
that
war.
MAJOR
POLITICAL PLAYERS
in Pangasinan. From top left photo and clockwise: Former Congressman
Mark Cojuangco, Second District Rep. Jumel Espino, Fifth District
Cong. Ramon “Monmon” Guico, and Pangasinan Governor Amado “Pogi”
Espino, III.
This
probably due
to the offer by the Ulupan that
the de Venecias shift alliances to
the Guico for governor versus incumbent Governor Amado “Pogi”
Espino, III.This
for the
Lambinos not to field anyone of them versus Toff and where
his family saves
hundreds of millions
of
pesos in an expensive campaign to a post that gives susmariosep
a monthly salary of almost
P300, 000 (Salary Grade 31).
Heat
Shifted to the Second District
The political
heat now has shifted to Pangasinan Second District under Rep. Jumel Espino.
According
to my A-1 source’s Deep Throat -3 , a kin of a political family
who wants to hide in anonymity, narrated
the Camp of former Congressman Mark Cojuangco who wants the seats of
Jumel in the May 9, 2022 election have been busy proselytizing
the village chiefs of the eight
towns’
District.
“Nag
usap kami ng isang
Kapitan ng Lingayen kamakailan sinabi niya na 15 of them Kapitans ay
isinakay sa eroplano at dinala sa Binalonan Airport,” he told me in
the vernacular probably to meet Cojuangco and Guico.
Allegedly,
my source told me, his Kapitan friend – the Horse’s Mouth – and the other village chiefs have been given Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000) each before they flew back to the
Capital Town.
He
exhorted me and other media men and even those interested to see the
Passengers' Log book
- I called “Manifest” when I was
riding
the C-130 as
a kid – to see the names of those Kaps.
“Ito
pa kausap ko rin iyong isa sa 37 Kapitans sa Mangatarem. Kamakailan
lang former governorship candidate Art Celeste and Board Member Von
Mark Mendoza nakipagkita
sa kanila”.
Deep
Throat-3 (Yes
Virginia, my source is an addition to Deep Throats 1 and 2 ala
Watergate’s Washington
Post whistle blower source hahaha) told
me that each of them allegedly received Fifteen Thousand Pesos (P15,
000) from
the generous hand of the Opposition.
“Mataas
ang bigayan sa Mangatarem kesa sa Lingayen. Siguro iyong sa Lingayen
binawas ang gasolina ng eroplano doon,”
I humored my spook hahaha!
He
said that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – the Auntie
of Monmon - called the town’s Mayor Ramil
”Balong”
Ventinilla
to
tell him to support Guico’s candidacy for the No. 1 elective post
in the 3,163, 190 populated (Census May 1, 2020) province.
Balong
used to be a leader in Pangasinan when La Gloria de Excel-sis was
President of the rambunctious country.
“Mag
antay lang kayo at iyong bahay ni Mark Cojuangco sa binili niya sa
Boulevard (Lingayen) will host political and media meetings”
he cited.W
With the Cojuangco-Guico Collaboration backed up by the other members of
the Opposition maaga ang magiging Christmas
ng mga Kapitan diyan sa Second District.
“Parang
sa Fourth District, early last year naka payroll na ang mga Kapitans,
Leaders, at Media Men takot ang isang pulitiko na baka maagaw ang mga
ito ng
kabilang partido na
maraming ring datung,”
I cited.
The
seasoned Espinos – under the stewardship of Political Savvy Amado Espino, Jr. who bludgeoned and
defeated big
names like Agbayanis and Cojuangcos- are no fluke either.
Their
financial juggernaut could be at par or excel those of Guico and
Cojuangco now that they are well-entrenched in the nuances of the
political power of the mammoth
once Citadel of Warrior Princess Urduja.
Siguro
madaming mga Kapitans dito ang mag “I have two hands, the left and
the right...,” I
mimicked the nursery
song.
Pyrrhic Victory
The
Espino Camp will surely
have their answer to the early generosity of their nemesis that would
find themselves – Espinos and Guico and Cojuangco - enmeshed in an
expensive election whose result could be a Pyrrhic
Victory
or will make bankrupt
any
one of them.
What’s
that?
Pyrrhic Victory
is that
inflicts such a devastating toll on the Victor
that it is equivalent to defeat.
“One could be victorious but the
heavy toll negates a true sense of achievement,“
I
once told a veteran Radio Broadcaster over bottles of Red Horse in
our house..
It
was about King Pyrrhus of Epirus whose army was
tragically damaged in defeating the Romans at the Battles of
Heraclea and the Asculum hundreds of years ago,” according to
the pambalot ng tinapa I accidentally read, I told him.
Godzak
and Godzilla!
Who
was that U.S President
who quipped after he won his Pyrrhic Reelection? "Another
victory like this and our money's gone!"
“Maniwala
ka Mortz iyong lahat ng sinabi ko sa iyo from the Horse’s Mouth,”
he exhorted me to believe him.
“Baka
kay Atong mo lang kinuha itong narration mo,” I retorted.
“Hindi,
hindi naman Horse’s Mouth si Atong – Stallion siya guapong high breed
kung sa kabayo pa,” he added.
To
those tricycle and jeepney drivers, jueteng
cobradores, construction
workers, and other blue collar workers who struggled to read this
column, the idiom’s Horse Mouth means “from
a reliable source or on the best authority”.
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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZAFollow
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.
