Playing with Fire
Victory at all costs
By Gonzalo Duque
IT’S election time, fellas, it’s the time of the year some smart Alecks – but not so smart for showing their hands – will try to make dirty money.
But the greedy of position, siopa ni ey, di aray maambisyon!, this is the best time to pray to their worst for the devil to grant them ideas, schemes, plans and strategies to fool the people to ensure their stay in power.
You are right, dear reader, they should be reminded about that Biblical warning “what would profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
Agda la tan nanonotan, agagui… To these ambitious souls, it is getting elected by all means and at all cost that matter. Their guiding principle – yes, Manny, the bad guys have their principles, too, dark, pikewet principles, that’s it.
It already started at the local Comelec office. In deference to the memory of his late father, former Councilor Reggie Ravanzo, we are not condemning as yet his son, Comelec officer Remarque Ravanzo who, the charge sheet says, has been too generous to the Benjie Lim camp for allowing so many flying voters to register so long as they were for Benjie Lim.
All Belen T. (Tan, not Tamondong) Fernandez could do is rant, shout, be furious at this wholesale display of robbery of the people’s right of suffrage! Anggad man labat agagui, siempre naman, sangkanengneng toy pruwebay saol, onlitdem sirin?
We got it on an unimpeachable authority that Election Officer Remarque Ravanzo has been behaving to be so enamoured with BSL.
In his imminent appointment as Register of Deeds the reason? Kumon mangitilak na maong ya record ya singa agui ton Ryan Ravanzo who stood his ground against those who would mangle the Constitution and the law just to serve the selfish ends of Lim.
Have you been bought, Remarque? Can’t you be like your lawful brother Ryan?
Anyway, the Liberal Party has filed a case against Remarque’s solicitous attitude.
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There was haste in our recollection of our Jaycee misadventures some 20 or so years ago involving Benjie Lim and us.
Ok, Ashok, we’ll tell you the unvarnished truth.
Benjie told Ashok daw why this columnist is very anti-Benjie Lim beyond his insulting remark “sino ka ba?” that hurt our son Nanoy permanently. Benjie’s version about his allegedly defeating us in the local Dagupan chapter elections was simply not true.
The truth is maples ya manhakot na botante, lokon talaga! Even in those our green years, he imported voters from other towns especially Manaoag.
To cut a long story short, he did amass winning votes which we contested with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC handed down a decision that sustained our group in the Dagupan Jaycees, Inc., the orig chapter, but it allowed Lim’s camp to use the name “Bangus Jaycees of Dagupan.” Not “Dagupan Bangus Jaycees” which they keep on violating till now.
Ok, with that settled, normalcy was restored. No, not exactly, because as often as they could, Lim’s camp would surreptitiously use the name Dagupan “Bangus” Jaycees when what was allowed by the SEC was “ Bangus Jaycees of Dagupan.”
Benjie would later approach us in the DJ, Inc. to help him get elected to the Philippine Jaycees presidency because his then closest ally, the late Larry Cabuang, who was Philippine Jaycees secretary-general was campaigning before all JC chapters against Benjie.
In the national organization, we in the incorporated chapter showed maturity. We buried the hatchet in his favor.
That’s why it’s unfair for his camp now to use a dirty campaign against Ryan Ravanzo, the new Philippine Jaycees president.
We recalled this because a lot of people, especially our past fellow Jaycees have been asking us why we are not with a fellow Jaycee.
At this juncture we chanced upon outgoing Councilor Chito Samson at Linda Mujer’s Pedritos. When we asked him why he was for Benjie, his quick reply was “ I am just a player.”
We’re confused why his son Saysi is in Belen’s ticket when his father is just “ a player.”
Nyay nibag tayod kasiporan ya barkada tan beerkada. If he says he is just a player with Benjie, then he is playing with fire.
Manalwar kayon san-ama!
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NOTES: On the way to Lyceum from Malued, we bumped into Gina de Venecia and Belen Fernandez doing a medical safari. Is Gina doing a shadow boxing since she has virtually no opponent? As for Belen, we are for her because she represents good government.
Know what? When we were in high school, our teacher, a Fr. Braganza, SVD, has a favorite quote, “Coruptio optima pessima est” (The corruption of the best is the worst form of corruption.” Aray!
