Fernandez saves Fernandez

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

IS Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez self-destructing or anti-cycling?

This is a question which needs a clear and logical answer from public servant Madam Belen pertaining to a cycling event held last Sunday at Tondaligan, Bonuan.

I was not the organizer of last Sunday’s race. It was Ric David Rodriguez, a Tarlaqueno and a nationally well-known promoter. He is a relative of Madam Mina, who conceptualized the bikefest, which was originally called the “Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez Cup” as she was at that time the acting mayor of the city.

Rodriguez came here to ask me to direct the event.  And the first thing he asked of me was to accompany him in handing the request letters to Vice Mayor Belen anent the proposal.

Not catching VM Belen at her office a week before the event, we left the letters and this was acknowledged by her staff. Rodriguez also explained all the matters to city legal officer George Mejia.

On that same day, just to be sure that VM Belen received the letters, Rodriguez and I motored to CSI Lucao and talked to one of her trusted staff named Tess, to whom we also gave the details and significance of the bike meet.

Of course, Rodriguez’s letter indicated a request for a little financial assistance from the Vice Mayor’s office, if possible. But obviously the most important thing was her consent allowing us to use Tondaligan as the venue of the bikefest.

After the explanation, we had an understanding with Tess that whatever the decision of Madam Belen, negative or positive, we would communicate through text messages so we could quickly make adjustments in our plan if necessary.

Three days passed and we received nothing from Madam Belen’s offices, neither from the city hall nor CSI. Our calls and text messages to Tess were all unanswered.

Rodriguez felt that they should have at least responded (with or without financial help from them) because it was important that we had her consent to hold the event, being the acting mayor.

All that Rodriguez and I needed was a REPLY, whether it was a “yes” or a “no” because we know how to accept the reality.

But no letter, no call, no text messages at all.

Only four days left before the event, I was informed by a friend of Mayor Al Fernandez that the sports-minded hizzoner was already back in Manila from his working trip to the U.S.

Although I knew that the hard-working mayor was still tired and restless from his long trip, I was already quite vexed and exasperated and so I took a chance and tried to call bayaw Al (I’m married to his second cousin). Luckily he answered my buzz and we eventually met the following day and discussed the matter.

Without a second thought, the cycling-avid city chief executive Fernandez gave us the green light to stage the event, to my and Rodriguez’s delight. His approval eased and ended our vexation and exasperation for so many days.

With God’s help, the race was staged successfully. Rodriguez happily called the race “Mayor Al Fernandez Jr. Cup.” (See story on this page)

Two days after the event, my old friend and The PUNCH colleague Jun V. was finally able to talk to Madam Belen through her mobile phone and we discussed  her non-response  regarding the Rodriguez letters.

She said the letters never reached her and so she was not aware of our predicament.

Well, in that case, if I take the words (alibi or not) of Madam Belen, it means Atty. Mejia and Tess will have to be faulted.

Para sa akin, hindi nila binigyan nang importansya, maybe, because they’re not cycling buffs.

We are lucky we have a sports-minded Al Fernandez, the guy who saved the other Fernandez.

And I hope veem Fernandez, who is supporting basketball in the city, is not anti-cycling at all. When she was a city councilor, she supported a cycling event during the golden anniversary of the city.

But that was a decade ago.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/sports-eye/
Readers may reach columnist at biking.jess@yahoo.com . For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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