Punchline
Crunch time for Guv Spines
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
GUV Spines’ indictment and that of his former provincial administrator Raffy Baraan was suddenly ‘affirmed’ by the investigating officer of the Office of the Ombudsman, 3 weeks before the official campaign period for local elections begins.
Whichever way one looks at it, the ‘affirmation’ is a serious development but it also has all the signs of it being politically motivated. For the more astute political readers, it means Guv Spines finally lost in the negotiation and power play with the Liberal Party. The affirmation is viewed as a consequence of the refusal of Guv Spines to completely toe LP’s (also read as PNoy’s line).
The relevant question to my mind is – Was the affirmation of the indictment necessary? My layman’s exposure to legal processes tells me it was strange that an affirmation was issued at all since it is the Ombudsman, not an investigating officer, either denies or approves a motion for reconsideration by a respondent.
The affirmation by itself has not changed anything except to serve the purpose of making people remember that there is a pending case before the Ombudsman against Guv Spines, and Mr. Baraan et al. There were no new issues introduced, no merits of the case discussed. Just a plain reminder for media purposes.
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HIS OPTIONS. Now that the LP has shown what it is capable of doing if Guv Spines continues to play hardball, all eyes are now upon him. Will he finally cave in, wiling to become Mr. Mar Roxas’ lackey or will he stay his course, take his gloves off, grind his fangs and ride the torpedoes?
It would appear that Guv Spines may have the upper hand being the most popular and productive governor the province ever had.
But he has to contend with the billions of resources that LP is prepared to squander to neutralize him in his own backyard. In other words, his touted influence may be cut in half, enough to still earn Mr. Roxas enough votes from Pangasinan to propel him to the presidency. And if Mr. Roxas becomes president, that will leave Guv Spines back in the doghouse even as congressman, and his son as governor.
On the other hand, LP should not be so confident about pushing Guv Spines to a corner. The Guv has enough political muscle to fight it out in the ring, that can leave the LP bloodied in the mouth, especially if Guv Spines has decided that what’s at stake is his personal honor and pride.
At the same time, many local voters will still go for command votes of their local leaders at home to protect their own interests, not in the national level who have little or no interests in their parochial affairs. Translation: Pangasinenses will be more inclined to support the bidding of Guv Spines than local leaders of Mr. Roxas whose influence will become insignificant once Mr. Roxas wins. They will likely bet on Guv Spines’ choices because he will remember them.
But at the end of the day, Guv Spines will still have to decide what’s good for him and Pangasinan. Will he buckle down and still choose to support Roxas-Rebredo? Or will he go the way of Duterte–Cayetano, Binay-Honasan, Poe-Escudero or Santiago-Marcos?
The first week of March will be telling enough!
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HERO OR HEEL? Outgoing Dagupan Councilor Alfie Fernandez may yet leave a legacy as the guy who derailed the approval of the city’s proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) in 2015-16 to update the 40-year-old CLUP of the city.
His colleagues point to him as the culprit being the chairman of the Committee on Land Use. He has refused to calendar the proposed plan for deliberation and voting by the body without saying as much what’s objectionable about it.
By simply keeping mum, outsiders in the know, believe that he is sending the message that he wants a ”negotiation” for it. Negotiation? What is there to negotiate for the city? Does he want certain provisions of the proposed CLUP deleted because these will harm the city?
As things stand today, there is no other way to interpret his resistance but his attempt to negotiate a “price” for his decision to calendar it as chairman knowing that the proposed CLUP will benefit a number of landowners financially, particularly Mayor Fernandez. Is it a case of a cheap attempt at legislation for sale? I sure hope not!
It is likely that the city will not have its new CLUP for as long as Councilor Alfie is in the council, but the city will have it sooner or later, with him or without him. So it is Mr. Fernandez’s own integrity and legacy that is at stake at this time.
Will he show the way to the city’s progress or will he long live in disgrace that he stood in the way for his personal interests?
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COMMON ENEMY, COMMON LANGUAGE. If the Duterte-Cayetano (DC) presidential tandem wins in May 2016 elections, the government shall have already found one common cause for unification and peace with communist and Moro secessionists – it is the campaign to put an end to narcopolitics in the country using the same language and tactic.
Still unknown to many, the NPA has already started executing suspected drug suspects who defied their warnings. In November last year, the NPA rebels already executed four known drug pushers in Compostela Valley after they failed to heed the rebels’ warning letters. The MILF launched its anti-drug campaign in Cotabato City at about the same time. Perhaps it is knowing this that makes the DC confident that it can stop the illegal drugs in the country and restore calm in families and restore peace and order in the streets within six months.
This brings me to our situation here in Luzon. Between a reformed police (with P90,000 as basic pay) and a motivated NPA and MILF who want to protect their families, the drug syndicates here will no longer find haven in the barangays, mountains, squatters’ areas and Moro villages. They will be sought out and killed!
When that day happens, there will be real peace and calm, local economies will thrive, our people will finally be more law-abiding, and the business of developing Mindanao and poorest regions will finally take roots!
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MISPLACED WHISTLEBLOWING. For the benefit of those who could not be at the proclamation rally of Duterte-Cayetano (DC) in Tondo last week, here’s what I have on the ranting of senatorial candidate Sandra Cam. She blames Senator Alan Cayetano’s staff for not allowing her and others not to speak during the proclamation rally as the reason for deciding not to support the senator’s bid for the vice-presidency.
Here are some facts not told the media: 1) None of the senatorial candidates were promised speaking time since DC had no official senate slate. 2) The senatoriables were never called to a coordination meeting about their role in the rally. 3) Any decision to be made about the rally had to have the consensus of the campaign leaders of DC and Cong. Amado Bagatsing, the host, not by Cayetano’s staff alone. 4) Senatorial Candidate Raffy Alunan did not share Cam’s and three others’ sentiments since he, too, knew that no one was promised a chance to speak at the rally. 5) At least 8 senatorial candidates from all quarters arrived at the rally one at a time, knowing it was a chance to show support.
I know these because I was seated beside Ms. Cam at the rally, and I looked into the background of her complaint.
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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