Politics
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03.26.08State of Affairs
Image credit: Imagezoo.comThe above cartoon illustrates the state of affairs in Mt. Province where political forces are fighting to determine who should temporarily fill up the congressional position of the departed Rep. Victor Dominguez.
We have already said the things we have to say on this matter here and here. But here’s the latest developments according to a report by Dexter See. Let’s take the claims of both sides with a grain of salt.
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03.17.08Benguet Governor Maximo Dalog?
Image from Sunstar BaguioBenguet Governor Maximo Dalog? Well, that’s according to Sunstar Baguio. We’re kinda tired pointing out to people that Banaue is not in Mt. Province, that Sagada is not in Ifugao, that Tabuk is in Kalinga, etc, etc but people committing those mistakes don’t know any better and are thus forgivable.
But Sunstar Baguio should know better because it IS Sunstar Baguio. Okay, it may be a typographical error which sometimes happen but still….
Anyways, the Sunstar article is about the Dominguez clan’s opposition to Domogan’s appointment as the caretaker of Mt. Province. As we said here and here we should have an election to reflect the choice of the people.
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03.06.08No to Caretakers, Men Botos Tako Ketdin
So we’re not the only ones who believe that appointing a “caretaker” (or undertaker as one of you wittily stated in the comments) has no basis in law. Read the write-up of Greg Taguiba below which also makes the same argument. (By the way, thanks to our tipster who alerted us about Greg’s article.)
As we said earlier, instead of proposing this caretaker nonsense, our officials should be working to ensure that a special election is held. Para naman marinig ang boses ng tao kung sino ang gusto nila.
Currently, we have some politicians pushing for the appointment of Baguio Rep. Domogan as the Mt. Province caretaker. Then, according to Greg’s article, “the camp of the late congressman is pushing for the appointment of Kalinga Rep. Manuel Agyao”. One of you also wrote here that Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa suggested Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao as the caretaker. As things go, I think the only “non-biased, no hidden agenda” suggestion is the one that comes from the Benguet Congressman.
Still, the best thing to do really is to get the will of the people. Who do they want as their Congressional representative? Only an election will determine this. The problem with this “caretaker” nonsense is that once a “caretaker” is appointed, those who lobbied for his/her appointment will be less inclined to work for the holding of a special election.
So no to caretakers. Yes to a special election. Masapol adi ay boses nan ipugao nan madnge. Cha, owen man.
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03.03.08Photo of the Day
Senator Loren Legarda tries to do an Igorot dance during a visit to a conference organized by Cordillera women leaders last year. Inviting Loren is a good move by said women leaders because the Senator may well become the next President of the country. She continues to perform well in presidential polls conducted by survey outfits. However, a lot of things can happen between now and 2010 so she should not count the eggs before they’re laid.
Will she make a good President? Who knows? She doesn’t strike me as someone who could change this country. Her presidency might feature people different from the current ones but it will be the politics of “same old, same old”. This is true for other politicians who have presidential ambitions, i.e., Senator Manuel Roxas II, Senate President Manny Villar, and Vice President Noli de Castro.
By the way, the group which invited Senator Legarda reportedly adopted her and named her “Tokwifi” which means “bright star” in Finontok. What do you think of that? Personally, I hope we stop using our native names/culture/etc as currency to pander to politicians. But that’s just me :-)
INFO/PHOTO SOURCE: senate.gov.ph
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03.02.08The Caretaker?
What’s this “caretaker” nonsense that people in Mt. Province are talking about? According to this report, following the demise of Mt. Province Rep. Victor Dominguez, some Mt. Province leaders have passed a resolution tasking Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan to be the province’s “caretaker”.
The report also states that the Dominguez clan “prefers someone who comes from the same party where the late lawmaker is affiliated” to be appointed.
Now is Mt. Province so poor in human resources that it has to look outside for a “caretaker”? How pathetic are we? I can’t imagine leaders of Kalinga, Ifugao, and the other Cordi provinces asking an outsider to be their “caretaker”. Seriously!
At the same time, huwag naman silang mag-appoint ng relative ng dating Congressman to be the “caretaker”.
But all these talks of appointing a “caretaker” is silly because if I understand this law correctly, there is no such thing as a “caretaker”.
Instead, what the law provides in case of a permanent vacancy in Congress is for the holding of a special election “not earlier than sixty (60) days nor longer than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the vacancy”. Iyan dapat ang tutukan ng mga nasabing Mt. Province leaders. (Note: I stand corrected if you can find a provision of law that provides for the appointment of a “caretaker”.)
Instead of asking Rep. Domogan to be their “caretaker”, what said Mt. Province “leaders” should do is to ask the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to immediately schedule a special election to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Dominguez.
There is no money for a special election? Then they should lobby Gloria and Congress to provide the money. Diyan masusubukan kung talagang malakas sila kay Gloria.
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02.06.08Cesar Rafael Update
The police is hunting for the suspected mastermind and his alipores according to this latest report from the Philippine Star via ABS-CBN:
BONTOC, Mt. Province – Police vowed to arrest the mastermind and three other suspects in the Christmas Day murder of the mayor of Paracelis town within the month.
Being hunted down for the killing of Mayor Ceasar Rafael are Anonat barangay chairman Rommel “Borbon” Ambatali, the suspected mastermind and alleged leader of a criminal syndicate involved in kidnappings for ransom, robberies in band, illegal possession of firearms, murders and cattle rustling in Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela; Anonat barangay kagawad Danny Agabao, and brothers Tony and Orland Gumbi.
Last week, Ambatali and his six henchmen were formally charged for the Rafael killing after two suspects – Bong Felix, 34, and Rene Yadao, 32 – gave themselves up to police and claimed that they served as lookouts.
The two tagged Ambatali as the mastermind who paid them P5,000 for the hit job.
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02.06.08Kicking JdV: Your Rep’s Vote
The House of Representative has been the center of media attention lately because of the ouster of its former Speaker, Pangasinan Congressman Jose de Venecia. De Venecia was kicked out of his Speakership post after a majority of the members of the House declared his post vacant.
We don’t care either way who is Speaker as we’ve given up on Congress a long time ago. After all, this recent brouhaha is a fight among thieves as former Senate President Jovito Salonga said in a TV interview. We are curious however about how our Cordillera representatives voted. Here’s the breakdown:
Those who voted “Yes” to declare the post of Speaker vacant (in effect kicking out de Venecia):
1. Kalinga Rep. Manuel Agyao
2. Apayao Rep. Elias Bulut Jr.
3. Abra Rep. Cecilia Seares-LunaThose who voted “No”
1. Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao
2. Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa
3. Baguio Rep. Mauricio DomoganIt’s interesting to note that the neophyte representatives (Rep. Agyao and Rep Luna) and the youngest one (Rep. Bulut) voted to kick out de Venecia while the more seasoned Reps voted to keep him.
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