Punchline
Who wants barangay elections?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
OUR province’s congressmen have found themselves in a dilemma over the suggestion of President Duterte to again postpone the barangay elections and allow him simply to appoint or designate barangay officials, particularly, kapitans!
They know too well that their constituents have been looking forward to an election of barangay officials, and an election for them will shift the pressure away from them to the electorate.
A designation-mode will find the congressmen, the governor and the mayors under a lot pressure by would-be candidates who need their endorsements for PRRD’s approval. And since, a designation mode will not entail campaign expenses, but simply the right connection to Malacanang, we can expect at least 5-10 candidates in every barangay vying for the coveted post of kapitan!
Pangasinan has 1,364 barangays comprising its 44 municipalities and 4 cities, ranking the province at 3rd with the most number of barangays in a Philippine province, only behind Leyte and Iloilo. Imagine 13,640 candidates trying to pull strings to get appointed!
Our congressmen and mayors should not tarry in recommending an election in October in lieu of designating mode!
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A VALIDATION. The suggestion of Mr. Duterte is not without reason.
It is true (and it is likely) that the illegal drugs network and their financiers will take the opportunity to ensure the election of compromised candidates, they who will commit to protect the drug trade in the barangays.
On the other hand, I believe communities who felt relieved by the success of the war on drugs in the barangays that made the neighborhood pushers and users on the run, greatly outnumber those who want the return to the easy-money opportunities presented by the drug trade.
Therefore, it is more likely that whoever is the kapitan known to be a protector, if not a pusher himself, will not get himself reelected or his ilk elected.
Under the Double Barrel’s Oplan Tokhang, it was payback time for the street pushers who destroyed families in the barangays.
In my view, therefore, the election of anti-drug advocates to the barangay council will be a validation of Mr. Duterte’ successful strategy in his war on drugs.
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MAYOR OF THE PHILIPPINES. Speaking of Mr. Duterte, his recent ranting laced with more expletives than he ever did, has admittedly unnerved many of his own supporters.
His gripes against ABS-CBN and PDInquirer are viewed by his loyal admirers to be valid and they sympathize with him. But they have difficulty articulating their support to their friends and co-workers because of’ ‘unli’ “p—nas,” etc.
On the other hand, we see the hardcore haters of anything that moves and sounds like Mr. Duterte, beating their chests with their – “I told you so, he’s not presidential!”
I have to agree that Mr. Duterte is not being presidential but he also made it clear that he would rather be called “Mayor of the Philippines” before and shortly after he was elected!
I’m afraid it’s too late to expect him (as Sen. Ping Lacson wishes) to metamorphose from being the brutally frank, casual and candid city mayor into a statesman-like chief executive.
So like it or not, Mr. Duterte will be our Mayor of the Philippines till 2021!!
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IMPERFECT PRESIDENT. About a month ago, Mr Duterte did tell us: “No plans to become a statesman!” Ugh! And he apologized: “I never graduated from being a mayor to be being a president, I’m sad to say that.”
Sure, we all wish he would do a remake of himself, a major makeover of sort, a change in persona. But to change him in our mold, he will not be Mr. Duterte. Besides, since when did mankind learn to teach old dogs new tricks? Not a chance.
But look at the silver lining in his being uncouth and foulmouthed – we can expect him to lunge, attack and chase the druglords and pushers, rapists and plunderers out of our communities spewing killer-expletives along the way.
So let’s resign ourselves to having an imperfect president who does not hesitate to be mayor-like in solving the country’s decades-old ills.
Right now, we can only pray and support. He’s the only president we got!
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LUNGING AT THE WINDMILL. I fully understand where Dagupan Councilor Joey Tamayo is coming from when he proposed to punish proponents and sources of ‘fake news’.
To be at the receiving end of a blatant lie and propaganda is most frustrating because as the phrased ‘fake news’ suggests, it’s hogwash and nothing but lies.
But sympathetic as I am with his thoughts and sentiments, enforcing such an ordinance would be literally like lunging at the windmill that will keep enforcers simply stuck on the revolving windmill with little else to show.
In such a situation, prosecutors will be hard put to secure a conviction since no one will surely admit to being the original source of a ‘fake news’.
It’s easier to file a libel case or a case of slander because all it takes is to submit a copy of the printed offensive article or tape/recording of the slur made in public. Being a lawyer himself, he knows that all that would be needed is to prove that there was malice and in which case, identifying the source of the offensive ‘fake news’ only becomes secondary.
In libel and slander, the source is easily identifiable; in Tamayo’s draft ordinance, identifying the source will be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Besides, it will be one ordinance that will be thrown out the window each time the country holds an election!
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MISTAKES. MISTAKES. I had a chance to watch the movie “The Last Word” that starred Shirley Maclaine.
To baby-boomers like myself, Shirley Maclaine was our “must-watch” Hollywood actress whose face easily transforms from a comic to a dramatic character. Watching her in this movie evoked memories of old because of the character she played.
It’s definitely a movie for seniors who are in that mode, asking one’s self – what have I done with my life, how have I affected others, who are still my friends, etc. And as we ask ourselves those self-serving questions, we create the opportunity to laugh at ourselves.
There was one particular dialogue that I distinctly remember in one scene with Ms. Maclaine talking to the obituary writer. She said “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Our mistakes are what make us.” Wow!
Provoked by that thought, I tried to remember the most horrible and silliest mistakes I made in my life, and I realized I became a better person each time because of these, at least that’s what I thought of myself.
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