Punchline
“Take-no-prisoner” mindset
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THE political race in the provincial level is getting to be ugly.
We are already beginning to see a “take-no-prisoner” campaign being lodged by the Braganza camp against the Espino administration at the expense of dedicated pubic servants who did their best to serve the province’s interests.
That the Braganza camp will do all to demonstrate that it can outshine and outdo the Espino administration is given. What is disappointing is the attempt to pull down Guv Spines with everyone who supported the province’s worthy projects.
A case in point is the health program of the Espino administration. It is one program of the incumbent administration that drew raves not only from international bodies but from the local government leaders here. For Mayor Braganza to belittle the gains of that program is to pooh-pooh the efforts of all that joined hands to make improved universal health care available to all Pangasinenses.
Another is the concrete gains by the Espino government in the field of education and culture. The Espino administration gave Pangasinenses reasons to be proud of their culture, something that few leaders in the past paid any attention to. Teachers rallied behind the program for the needed impetus, and their efforts paid off.
Both Guv Spines and Mayor Braganza, both gentlemen-politicos, can easily set the tone for a high level political campaign to better educate our voters by simply articulating what each can do better instead of employing the usual crab mentality approach to get on top (or stay on top) over the other.
Ugly politics should no longer be allowed to thrive in our midst. Both Messers. Espino and Braganza can show the way.
* * * * *
HIGH RISK IRONIES. The recent inclusion of Pangasinan as a “high risk” election area is a study of amusing contrasts and ironies.
Sr. Supt. Sonny Verzosa says the label is good for the province because it will cause the deployment of more police and military personnel to help ensure peace and order. He unwittingly admits he cannot do his job like other provincial commanders in other provinces unless he gets more resources.
Why were the other PNP provincial directors in provinces not listed able to do it? Doesn’t he have what it takes to be feared by politicos who think guns, goons and gold is the way to win elections? Is he not capable of a kamay na bakal approach to strictly enforce the law without the additional personnel? For his career, he would be well advised to reverse his position and instead seek to prove the label wrong, that under his watch, the province is peaceful and politicos behave.
Of course, the Braganza camp, as expected, went around town bashing the Espino administration for the province’s inclusion. But it better withdraws its cannons quietly since their own cannons can blow up in their faces faster than it can pull them back because Alaminos is one of the reasons why the “high risk” tag was pinned on the province.
To Guv Spines, the negative label is understandably a personal affront to him. The impression given is he did nothing to set things in order when he was PNP provincial and regional director and now as governor. It’s a perception that the Braganza camp is exploiting to the hilt, no doubt, but the same can be thrown at VG-wannabe Lomibao. How much did he do to curb political violence in the province during his watch?
Guv Spines must also be feeling frustrated because the controversial shotguns he bought for barangay kapitans in 2008 did not help any in projecting a peaceful environment in the province. Tsk-tsk.
Anyway, no matter how one views it, the “high risk” label is an unwanted one and completely undeserved. Pangasinenses must stand up as one to that. What matters now is, what Guv Spines, Messers. Brangaza, Lomibao and Verzosa will do to restore the peaceful image of Pangasinan in the national consciousness.
* * * * *
MORE LIES. Dagupan Mayor Benjie Lim must have gone berserk, grasping at straws in his vain attempt to discredit our news reports and column items about corruption in his office. He continues to concoct and spread lies where he can, fielding his attack dogs from his kennel to radio stations and local newspapers to echo his tall tales.
From our mutual friends’ accounts, his favorite of them all is still his “inside info” that your SUNDAY PUNCH was already bought and owned by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez! For P3-M, he says. Ha-ha! (If Mr. Lim can prove VM Belen owns a share, I will gladly turn over the rest of the shares to him).
I can understand his deep frustration about The PUNCH. He cannot stop The PUNCH from continuously exposing the venalities in his office involving him, his key people and recently the Judas 9, so he wants people to believe that all The PUNCH’s exposes about him were “maliciously“ prompted by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, being the “new owner”. Tsk-tsk.
I am already inclined to believe he actually thinks very highly of VM Belen seeing how he is giving her too much credit, deservedly perhaps. He not only unwittingly flatters VM Belen but shows how envious he is of the perceived influence of the vice mayor on The PUNCH. But unlike him and knowing Ms. Fernandez, she won’t even dare think of “ordering” The PUNCH to do anything just as Mr. Lim does to the other local papers. To her credit, she never dared, not even by pabulong through mutual friends, and part of it is perhaps because she doesn’t own a single table and chair inside the PUNCH office.
Mr. Lim can do his worst but The PUNCH office is and always will be a watchdog for our people, never a lapdog or attack dog for anyone. Mr. Lim, VM Belen and all other city and provincial elected officials are on our radar screen 24/7 watching out for anomalies and “value engineering” schemes!
* * * * *
And worse he did.
Recently, mutual friends again told me that Mr. Lim launched another mind poison premised on his lie that Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez is the new owner of The PUNCH. This time he concocted another cock-and-bull story, pitting the CSI Mall against giant mall-chain owner SM. He and his lapdogs are now spreading the lie that The PUNCH, being owned by VM Belen, published a story that SM City Rosales’ business is floundering. Tsk-tsk.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. It’s no secret that SM City Rosales (and Robinsons Pangasinan in Calasiao, chain of CSI Malls, and yes, Magic Malls, and many others in the province) are doing brisk business. It’s a fact that is much too obvious not to be noticed by anyone. Did Mr. Lim and his attack dogs think for a moment that SM would fall for it? They insult the SM management unfairly.
Has Mr. Lim become so desperate and despondent as to be so cunning and insidious in plotting against The PUNCH? He should stop insulting the intelligence of Dagupeños with his incredible lies but I guess that would be too much to ask of someone desperate to escape public accountability.
P.S. Watch out for the sale of MC Adore to his favored mystery buyer on Dec. 17!
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
