With fingers crossed, we’ll beat the odds under – Al

By Gerry Garcia

THE move of some administration stalwarts to push their bid for charter-change and eventually   secure shift of governance style  from presidential-bicameral  to unicameral parliament (of the federal type) has at the moment been put on hold, for apparently strategic reason, by  Speaker de Venecia himself, top advocate of the Cha-cha move.

JdV’s “moratorium” on Cha-cha has been triggered, understandably, by the Speaker’s fears he might be ganged up on by militant oppositionists in the senate  but  he tactfully took a step to make up for this by saying he dropped his “shift” move to be able to focus on more urgent priority bills still pending in Congress.

Anyway, JdV hopes to put to an end ugly suspicions among trapo oppositionists in Congress that his Cha-cha plans are tied up with his ambition to be Prime Minister. That’s why he has more than twice denied having any intention to perpetuate himself in power . . . much less to run for president in 2010.

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Today, 51 years after the Punch first hit the streets in Dagupan, we can’t help fondly reminiscing the days when two eminent writers in Manila, the late Leon O Ty of the Philippines Free Press news-magazine and Ernesto Granada of Manila Chronicle, offered invaluable support for The Sunday Punch’s initial issues by writing opinion columns for the paper and wishing it longevity . . . We’re now way over 50!

Philippine Star’s Max Soliven, the paper’s late founder-Editor had also been on frequent personal visits to the office of bosom pal Ermin Garcia, Sr., our late founder-editor.

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With come-backing Mayor Al Fernandez again on the saddle, Dagupeños need to fear no longer any chance for booming Urdaneta City to catch up with the city.

With nearly four decades  in public office behind him, as city mayor, under-secretary of DILG, and Commissioner of Immigration, Al has vowed to provide the city with “social programs, social order and good strong  financial management”, to put the whole weight of governing on transforming Dagupan into a progressive and healthy city.

With business tycoon Belen Fernandez as Vice Mayor, Dagupeños will have every reason to believe Al, the Mayor, will certainly beat the odds.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/here-and-there/)

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