Think about it
Barangay Lucao takes center stage
By Jun Velasco
“All politics is local,” unknown
OVER a cup of coffee, Eleazar Quinto met with old friends at Al and Macky’s favorite hangout—Pedrito’s, where else?—ostensibly to feel the public pulse on his new project: run for barangay chairman and win, yup, in Mayor Belen’s home turf, Barangay Lucao.
It’s a commendable idea, isn’t it?
Nice, the common reaction of his friends was, the election is in the bag.
Wait a minute. Let’s analyze the exuberant consensus.
On Eleazar, everyone with even a casual interest on Philippine politics, knows that he had a standout role as a former secretary general of the Liberal Party, nino bonito of former Vice President Tito Guingona, staffman of Senate President Jovy Solonga, trusted man of Senator Soc Rodrigo, and lately, confidant of former Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza, now a party-list congressman.
Most of us know him as a former DENR secretary and locally, a dramatic actor of Lyceum-Northwestern University.
It’s understandable that the irrepressible Attorney Gonzalo Duque has a soft spot for Eleazar. But Gons cautioned him, “magmano ka muna kay Mayor Belen, taga-Lucao din.”
“Ay, oo, as always, I am Mayor Belen’s loyalist man, Eleazar’s snappy reply.
Those present—Macky Samson, Rhee Fer, Ging Cardinoza, Elit Lambino and Alfred Dawana—wondered why there’s still a hitch to his legit plan to run for kapitan with his sterling qualifications.
Well, here’s the rub: former Kapitan Lino Fernandez is staging a comeback… not only as Kapitan but as ABC prexy as well.
Well, it looks like that’s the grand plan.
Had Eleazar not come into the picture, it’s a done deal. Other would-be ABC president, Fred Quinto or Chito or Saysi Samson or Jake Reyes, so the rumor runs, will yield to Lino Fernandez, known fair-haired man of Mayor Belen and former Mayor Al Fernandez.
Things would have been that easy.
But politics is politics; it has its subtleties and nuances. And it must be presumed that Mayor Belen who has overnight become a political guru, star and master of the game will have to consider, we think, certain things if she is to handle Lucao like a virtuoso.
Ely Quinto, who is never a “problem boy,” to the holders of power is, no doubt, a great talent. He comes from a family known for a track record in public service. In the nation, Ely at a young age has enjoyed the approbation of respectable national leaders.
There’s a sense in Gonzalo’s joke “you are doing a demotion for yourself by running for barangay captain.”
So what now? Maybe what we ought to ponder is that the barangay is the first plum in rendering public service in our society.
Our first impulse is to ask ourselves if we have a personal stake in it. When we support a candidate, we square off with our conscience, we ask our spouse, family members and friends to support our decision.
We should hurdle that quiz before we enlarge our arena of service.
Who was the political wit who said “all politics is local.”
We say that because many people are belittling the barangay elections. They fail to grasp its significance – its being a launching pad for a grander service for our countrymen.
We view Ely’s coming home, which has made Nana Conching happy, as the first plank to be Mayor Belen’s next fair-haired man in the Republic of Lucao.
Who knows?
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