Be truthful to the good man, Joe III

“Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.”

—Dennis Prager

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF you meet former Iloilo City mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III anywhere in Iloilo City nowadays, give him a hug and shake his hands. He is a good man.

If you love him, tell him the truth in his face. Don’t give him false hopes.

If you care for him, be sincere when striking a conversation with him over a cup of coffee at La Paz Public Market’s Madge Café, where he is a regular habitue.

Don’t pretend you care for the former city mayor, who had served as city councilor and vice mayor under four city mayors: Rodolfo “Roding” Ganzon, Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor, Jed Patrick Mabilog, and Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas, when you don’t.

Of course, only those who don’t like him will avoid him like rinderpest. But he is a good man, and we must presume he is likable even if he isn’t an incumbent elected official.

If we see imminent danger for someone and we do nothing, we become accessories to his pain and vicissitude.

If we anticipate his downfall and nonetheless continue to dupe and take him for a ride, we become collaborators and there’s blood in our hands. 

 

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If you don’t have the moral courage and aren’t prepared yet to tell him the truth for fear of “hurting” him, at least don’t hoodwink Atty. Joe III. 

Truth that hurts but spoken with all candor and sincere intention is better than sugar-coated lies meant to mesmerize and tantalize.

Since he is a candidate for the city’s lone congressional district and will challenge incumbent Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda in the May 9, 2022 local election, now is the right time to be truthful to the good man, who is always “comfortably ahead in the surveys.”

As a reasonable and smart person, Atty. Joe III knows how to listen to reasonable and sensible pieces of advice and constructive criticism. 

If they mislead him and allow him to climb up into the banana tree and, once he is up there, chop down the tree, they’re not only dishonest but cruel and inhuman.

 

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Migs Zubiri, Sherwin Gatchalian, Joel Villanueva, Gregorio Honasan,  Loren Legarda are among the senatorial candidates in the May 9, 2022 election who should be dumped by the voters.

In their TV commercials, they think the Filipino people are fools and ignorants who owe them debts of gratitude.

“Salamat Migs…,” screams one political infomercial (and to think it isn’t yet officially a campaign season). Salamat or thank you for what?

Migs and other jackasses aspiring for reelection should be the ones to be thankful to the people for electing them into office despite their incompetence and lack of sincerity to lift Juan dela Cruz from the nadir and sinkhole.

Migs and his fellow chumps should be ashamed to assume that Juan dela Cruz was indebted to them for whatever pubic service they have done. 

In the first place, they were paid by taxpayers’ money and pampered by a corrupt bureaucracy like privileged kings and queens and weren’t slaves.

“Nang dahil kay Joel…” and “Nang dahil kay Loren…” trumpet another political infomercials.

Nang dahil or because of Joel and Loren for what?

It should be “nang dahil” or because of the votes of the people why they were their in the congress’ upper and lower chambers.

The reason why the Philippines continues to slide in the economic chart and doesn’t rise above poverty level is because of useless politicians like Migs, Loren, Joel, Sherwin, Greg, among others, who have no qualms heaping praises to themselves first to ensure their election win, but neglecting the true state of the nation and ignoring the real roots of the Filipino people’s age-old burdens and deprivation.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

Don’t humiliate a woman political rival

“Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.”

— Mary Wollstonecraft

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT’S not nice for a man to use the social media to attack or even think of attacking a woman. 

It’s not good for a frustrated politician to always badmouth and humiliate a neophyte member of the House of Representatives, who is a potential rival in the next election. 

Even in imagination, a man should never hurt a woman emotionally and physically.

If you want to know a man, listen to the language he uses to describe a member of the opposite sex after he has been jilted by the latter, or for being a “stumbling block” in his sagging political career.

Also, it’s not pleasant to admit hurting a woman physically especially if she is a lover or former lover, a wife or former wife. 

It’s not wise to wash your dirty linens in public and to kiss and tell after the neophyte politician has “eclipsed” the male politician’s political success. 

Especially if you are having or had emotional attachment with her. Especially if you are having or had sexual liaison with her; if you benefited a lot from her concerning your carnal needs and fleshly desires.

 

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She shouldn’t be called a “slut” or “maniac” to justify dumping her like a waste so his macho tormentor can tarry-hoot with the next nymphet.

It’s not good to be a misogynist. 

Like envy and irrational jealousy, it’s an aberration of the mind.

A woman is a special creation of God. 

She represents the image of our mother, sister, girlfriend, wife or partner in life.

We have the Blessed Virgin Mary as the symbol of purity, the epitome of piety and righteousness, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Without a woman, no one could biologically bring us here in this material world.

She labored hard, sacrificed a lot, and carried us on her womb for nine months. She feeds us. She gives us life. She sings for our joy and benefit.

No woman should be ridiculed or put to shame because of her sexual experiences or desires even if she is a criminal or enemy of the most powerful man in the universe.

After all, we are all sinners. In fact, many of us have committed more sins than her.

Magdalene, Cleopatra, Madame Bovary, Lady Chatterley, Princess Diana, Kris Aquino had their own share of infamy in the department of lechery.

They, too, had been slandered and persecuted. 

But men of antiquity and modern times treated them with respect and adulation because they are women–and because of the great things they contributed for mankind.

 

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Like men, women also fall in love with passion. 

They, too, have emotions. 

They also fail and get frustrated and hurt. 

When they fall for men, they give their best; they give it all.

If some of them happen to be naive they become susceptible to exploitation and abuse–and sometimes end up as sex slaves, if not tortured and murdered.

Women in general are loving and decent human beings. 

God intended to give them a special role in society, and they should enjoy equal rights, privileges, and happiness with men.

Let’s hear it from Barbra Streisand: “I am a woman in love and I do anything to get you into my world and hold you within. It’s a right I defend ever and over again. What do I do?”

To fall in love, to enjoy a satisfying sex life, to live with dignity and respect, to practice freedom of choice, is the right that every woman should fight and defend in a masochistic society governed by some do-gooder and hypocrite congressmen. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, is a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)

 

 

Mayor Joe III should prove Alim wrong

“God as my witness, may He strike me down if this allegation is true.”
--Paul Crouc

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- We suspect that Bacolod City Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia wasn’t happy that the honor of holding Manny Pacquiao’s WBA 147-lb belt when the senator defended his crown against Adrien Broner in Las Vegas on January 19, 2019 went to senatorial candidate Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
The role of holding Pacquiao’s championship belt during the introduction inside the ring has been Leonardia’s exclusive franchise since Pacquiao became a WBO kingpin 10 years ago.
In fact, the chief reason why Leonardia flew to Las Vegas despite his busy schedule in Bacolod City, was “to fulfill that obligation.”
There were many attempts in the past from eager-beaver Pacquiao friends and subalterns to dislodge Leonardia from that lofty honor but they all failed.
I am a living witness to some of these foiled heists.

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In fact, I know personally some of the purported VIPs who tried but failed to trick Leonardia.
In one of Pacquiao’s fights at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino many years back, Leonardia had to grip the belt tightly like Conan the Barbarian and defend it like his honor was at stake when a physician friend attempted to grab it from his hands.
If coolers heads did not interfere, the Ilonggo mayor was prepared to square off with the intruder in what could have been the undercard’s preliminary bout right there in the dressing room.
If these charlatans weren’t jealous with Leonardia, they wanted to become instant celebrity by being seen instantly by millions of boxing fans from all over the world monitoring the event “live” on a pay-per-view.
This time, one of them succeeded.
Bato, of course, had a sinister intention.
As a senatorial candidate, the retired police director general knew his presence would generate a lot of attention from the voters.

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The first-ever serious allegation of a possible graft and corruption “committed” in the infant administration of Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III has been fired by Councilor Joshua Alim.
The eye of the storm is the controversial P45-million newly-built grandstand in the Muelle Loney, City Proper, which Espinosa III had temporarily named as the Iloilo Dinagyang Grandstand.
Alim, a candidate in Iloilo City’s lone congressional district in the May 2019 elections, said he wasn’t convinced that the recently-inaugurated main venue of this year’s Dinagyang Festival was worth that amount.
The opposition councilor wasn’t impressed by the grandstand’s design even as he declared he would call for a committee investigation in the Sangguniang Panlungsod to shed light on the issue.
The grandstand, originally known as the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand when it was still standing in front of the Customs house in corner Mapa-J.M. Basa Streets, City Proper, was built under the Espinosa III’s administration.

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Once Alim starts to seriously pursue the investigation, it will give Mayor Joe III, a rich man who does not need to steal and has no bad record in public service, a terrible inconvenience as he, too, is running for city mayor against Rep. Jerry Trenas in the May 2019 elections.
Alim’s recent saber-rattling, of course, was a music to Trenas’ ears.
Although Alim and Trenas do not belong in one political bandwagon, the councilor’s offensive move against Mayor Joe III is expected to be welcomed by Trenas’ group as a shibboleth of conquest.
Ilonggos who don’t believe that Mayor Joe III is a thief, meanwhile, will now start to suspect that he tolerated graft and corruption when he employed grafters in his administration.
Of course we are not saying that Alim is right.
In fairness to the mayor, everything is a mere suspicion and allegation; no formal complaint has been lodged yet against any Espinosa III minion in relation to the construction of the controversial grandstand.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, Mayor Joe III can’t just shrug off Alim’s fusillade as a mere powder puff.
He must prove that the councilor is wrong by facing the issue squarely and grabbing the bull by the horns.

The ‘Iron Lady’ Zulueta I know

“Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.”
--Imelda Marcos

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The reported “surprise” entry of Dr. Perla S. Zulueta in Iloilo City’s congressional race must have saddened Councilor Joshua Alim and former councilor Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda.
Alim and Baronda are aware they will be facing a serious contender with an almost impeccable record and a long experience in public service.
If there are still active Iloilo beat reporters today who have covered Zulueta starting when she won a seat in the Iloilo provincial board in 1988, I am one of them.
In the period between 1989 until 1992, Zulueta was a runaway newsmaker (from an IBC-TV 12 newscaster before she entered politics) as the No. 1 tormentor of then Iloilo Governor Simplicio “Sim” Griño.
Now Councilor Armand Parcon was Bombo Radyo Iloilo’s capitol beat reporter but fellow Bombo Radyo reporter and then law student Alim (he passed the bar in 1991) and another former Bombo Radyo star reporter Francis Hinayhinay would join us from time to time when we interviewed then Board Member Zulueta, who first earned the moniker “The Iron Lady” because of her series of jaw-dropping expose and Philippic speeches in the provincial board.

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A tense moment occurred sometime in 1992 before Zulueta ran and lost to former Assemblyman and Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Commissioner Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr. for governor in the May 1992 elections.
We, in the Iloilo Capitol Press Corps, had been tipped off that an “indignant” son of Governor Griño was in the capitol premises “planning to disrupt” the provincial board’s regular session to prevent Zulueta from making another scathing privilege speech that would embarrass the governor.
Everyone waited anxiously and our attention was divided--we leered from time to time inside and outside the session hall like we were watching a ping pong match.
The son indeed appeared but a phalanx of capitol henchmen, alerted by the potential chaos, boxed him out peacefully thus preventing a melee as the late virtuoso and watchful former Oton mayor Lazaro “Nene” Zulueta silently stood nearby like Kevin Costner in the Bodyguard film.
Board Member Zulueta managed to sledgehammer anew the Griño administration in her sharp speech unmolested.

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Griño, a religious and good man, lost to Defensor. Zulueta, who wound up second, garnered more votes than the defrocked governor. Fifth district independent bet, the late Azur Salcedo finished last.
When Zulueta became Iloilo city councilor in 1995, she strapped around her waist the opposition holster anew and became the No. 1 source of Mayor Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor’s headache.
In every cookie jar that minions of Malabor had dipped their fingers into, there the firebrand Councilor Zulueta was running the gauntlet and firing the cylinders.
In every anomaly that she had stumbled upon, Zulueta saw to it that there were Dickens to pay for the thieves and the taxpayers would heave a sigh of relief.
In the 1998 elections, Zulueta sided with then fellow city councilor and now Iloilo City Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas in a foiled attempt to defeat the reelectionist Malabor, the “man of the masa” who rolled past all his moneyed rivals to complete the three terms as city mayor.
Zulueta became Treñas’ ally when the latter reigned as city mayor from 2001 to 2010.

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It was during those years that Zulueta’s political relationship with fellow city councilor and eventually vice mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III was buttressed (although they had been closely working together in the local legislature in the opposition during the Malabor administration). When Joe III became city mayor in October 2017 after Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog’s “forced departure”, he retained the “Iron Lady” (a Mabilog appointee) as one of his advisers.
Zulueta has reportedly accepted Mayor Joe III’s invitation for her to run for congress in May 2019 after former councilor Nielex “Lex” Tupas said “no mas” to politics.
Her entry will place her in a collision course versus Baronda, who is being backed by Treñas; and Alim, who is reportedly being supported by the group of Dr. Pacita Gonzalez.

   

‘Where were you when I needed you most?’

“Choose to focus your time, energy and conversation around people who inspire you, support you and help you to grow you into your happiest, strongest, wisest self.”
-- Karen Salmansohn

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I have misgivings with reports that former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will endorse local candidates in the top positions in the May 2019 elections.
Since he is not running for any elective position (his dismissal is under appeal in the Supreme Court, according to his wife, Marivic) next year, it’s doubtful if he will issue an official statement endorsing certain candidates.
Why risk antagonizing one group for endearment of another if you can maintain a peace of mind and a stress-free life while watching the political cockfighting in the safe confines of the splendid Canadian territory and far away from the wreckage and bloodbath?
Why stir the hornet’s nest and end up exposing yourself to be stung by the “unforgiving” and “ungrateful” bees?

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Some Mabilog supporters who are still undecided have been anxiously waiting for his go signal.
Many of them still conjure up a bedazzling scenario of their idol staging a “surprise” comeback any moment during the election season.
There are village officials, youth leaders, and city hall officials and rank-and-file workers loyal to Mabilog who are smiling at Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and Rep. Jerry Treñas like bosom friends, but, deep inside, their hearts are still for the self-exiled enemy of President Duterte.
If Mabilog won’t endorse anyone in Iloilo City, no one can blame him.
In fact, he isn’t morally and politically obliged to raise some hands in the coming elections.
He isn’t beholden politically to any Tom, Dick, and Harry.
And besides, where were they when he needed them most?

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Malversation of public funds has many forms, stripes, and faces.
There is actually another source of graft and corruption in the Philippine government: cash advance.
Corrupt government officials always find the calamities, other natural disasters, hosting of events, and out-of-town or foreign trips as the perfect opportunities to enrich themselves.
When there is no limit for these rascals to ask for cash advance, it is easy to fill their pockets.
Others become instant millionaires by indulging in indiscriminate cash advances.
Although they are required by the law to liquidate their “expenses”, many dishonest government officials submit liquidation papers that have been “doctored” or supporting documents with tampered or bogus receipts and signatures.
Many of them intentionally delay their liquidation report; sometimes it takes years before their shenanigan is uncovered, when another administration has taken over.
Other thieves in government with unique talent and guts steal the salaries and allowances of job hires or casual workers through cash advances.

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That’s why we need a no non-sense Commission on Audit (COA) officials who will never succumb to pressures, coercion, and back-door manipulations.
COA auditors must be independent, fearless, and committed to safeguard the taxpayers’ money.
COA auditors must have strong moral and family values in order to dodge temptations.
They must reject gifts, freebies and expensive goodies, and other material favors from incumbent officials with direct access to the cookie jars.
COA auditors who waltz with corrupt government officials are coddling graft and corruption and should be booted out from office before they could play footsie and resurrect more Frankensteins in the civil service.

Treñas places Baronda on firing line

“To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.”

-- Hubert H. Humphrey

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- By naming former Iloilo City councilor Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda as “first congresswoman-to-be” in an event in Brgy. Cubay, Jaro district on September 22, Iloilo City lone district Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas has initiated the first move to place the head of the lady politician on the firing line.
When Baronda’s jealous critics or potential rivals--or the supporters of her rivals--begin to throw darts at her, it’s because Treñas gave them the idea on how many tanks and ammunition are they now going to assemble and prepare this early against a known enemy.
By the time the official showdown begins, Baronda’s potential adversaries may have built an enormous armory and battalions to storm and piss her off; they may have studied the right recipe to wreck her during the campaign period.
Even before the start of the campaign sortie, Baronda’s enemies are expected to start tormenting her with issues that will push her in the brink of mental and emotional anguish, and force her to rethink whether it’s worth her salt to be in the political hot seat when she could have relaxed and enjoyed her private life as an ordinary civilian if she did not throw her hat on the political ring once again.
That’s the downside of having to disclose your forces earlier.

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On the other hand, Treñas’ hint of preference for Baronda will finally put to an end the guessing game and stop giving other congressional wanna-bes close to Treñas false hopes and false imaginations.
This will give former Iloilo City councilor Nielex “Lex” Tupas the leverage to assert his independence and boost his chances to be wooed and possibly endorsed by other parties.
Tupas did not announce his plans for the 2019 elections during his birthday in August as he had promised earlier, but this gave his rivals the blank wall and the jigsaw puzzle of what lies ahead in as far as his rumored candidacy for congressman is concerned.
This will also pave the way for Councilor Joshua Alim to finally consider forging an alliance officially with the groups of Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and Dra. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez to complete the cast for the Armageddon.

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As a “graduating” council member, Alim has been a shoo-in for the congressional contest even before Baronda’s name had surfaced; even before Tupas had made many Ilonggos think it’s about time he was elected in congress instead of “wasting” his talent in the National Youth Commission (NYC) which he had served briefly before calling it a day when the Duterte administration took over.
By revealing earlier his preference for the congressional post he would soon vacate to run for city mayor in the May 2019 local elections, Treñas was also sending a curt message to his brother-in-law, Espinosa III, that “your time is up.”
Once Treñas will officially endorse Baronda, it will be tantamount to shutting the door with finality to the dream
Espinosa-Treñas tandem for congressman and city mayor in the May 2019 elections.
Baronda was, of course, elated with Treñas’ statement that he was “60 percent certain” of picking her to be his bet for congress.
Her sharpness and agility to surmount the major challenge in the May 2019 elections will be put to severe test in the next weeks and months once she will start to feel the heat of the dirty side of political mudslinging.
Good luck, congressional candidate-to-be, Jamjam Baronda.

Who has the ‘right’ to be the next mayor?

“Leadership is a choice, not a position.”
--Stephen Covey

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The most senior member of the Iloilo City Council, Atty. Eduardo “Ed” Peñaredondo, should have all the right to run for city mayor in May 2019.
Peñaredondo is even more senior than the feuding Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and lone district Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, although they are both his long-time buddies in the City Council.
Some Ilonggos believe that if the relationship between Espinosa and Treñas will remain frosty before Christmas, it’s better to pick another guy and abscond the two leading bets.
The problem is Peñaredondo, a very credible and highly competent leader, has not shown any interest for the top city hall job.
And even if he is interested, nobody from among his peers in the City Council is apparently ready to take him seriously as a potential mayoral contender, at least not yet.

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We believe though that most of his peers would be willing to endorse him if they weren’t ashamed to both Espinosa and Treñas.
And if they will rally behind Peñaredondo in unison, both Espinosa and Treñas will understand and won’t take it personally against them.
They city mayor and the congressman are not stony and insensitive.
They are aware that because of their unnecessary and useless altercation, their buddies in the City Council are awfully confused, affected and hurting.
Members of the City Council, including Peñaredondo, are actually in a quandary ever since the relationship between Espinosa and Treñas deteriorated and eventually nosedived.
They are torn between two lovers.
They have no reason to eschew neither Espinosa nor Treñas who have been and are still part of their political lives.

-o0o-

Both gentlemen are actually special to them as they used to belong in one political family.
Their predicament is similar to children watching their parents argue but they can’t take sides because both father and mother are dear to them.
As a result of the misunderstanding between the city’s two highest officials, the city councilors are adamant to say or do something in as far as political issues in the city are concerned for fear they will be misinterpreted by both camps.
Even the department heads and some village officials--punong barangay and their councilors--are in the same dilemma.
They both love Espinosa and Treñas (in the first place, they weren’t enemies but allies aside from being mag bilas from the start of their political careers) but they need to choose and elect only one city mayor.

-o0o-
Some people have this naughty suspicion that because Iloilo first district Rep. Oscar “Richard” Garin Jr. has declared that the Garin clan “is still not committed” in the gubernatorial contest in May 2019, the unpredictable family is “cooking up something.”
They theorize that one of the Garins “might also be interested to run” or the family is only trying to make pakipot and will continue to keep its cards hidden in its sleeves until the eleventh hour.
They also misinterpreted Rep. Garin’s actuation after seeing him on several occasions worming his way closer to President Rodrigo R. Duterte every time there was an opportunity.
Like in the recent SONA where Rep. Garin was caught in the camera smiling from ear to ear as he slowly approached and slightly tried to touch the president as the latter was shaking the hands of legislators while moving outside the Batasang Pambansa.
These doubting Thomases have probably forgotten that Rep. Garin’s wife, former health secretary Janette, is now in trouble because of the Dengvaxia mess.
Which is more important? To secure the graces of the president in order to win an important elective post in 2019, or to see your wife completely unburdened from any criminal liability? Think.

If Marivic isn’t qualified, who will the Mabilogs endorse?

“When politics is no longer a mission but a profession, politicians become more self-serving than public servants.”
--Emmanuel Macron

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The first thing enemies of former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will agitate is that “Victoria 'Marivic' Griengo Mabilog is a Canadian citizen, thus she is not qualified to run for any public office in 2019.”
This argument is presumably being prepared by Mabilog’s critics amid reports that the former first lady of Iloilo City, who is now out of the Philippines, is being pushed by some Ilonggos to run for city mayor in May 2019.
Only the Commission on Elections (Comelec) can tell if Mrs. Mabilog is qualified or not.
Mrs. Mabilog has not made any official announcement regarding the report.
If Mrs. Mabilog is qualified under the law and decides to throw her hat in the mayoralty race, she will be squaring off with two of her husband’s former chief political allies -- Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” P. Treñas and Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III.

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If the law will allow Mrs. Mabilog to run for mayor, she will certainly give the warring gentlemen a titanic headache as she is going to collect all the “wasted” votes when the combined empires of Treñas and Joe III collapse owing to their imminent disintegration.
If Mrs. Mabilog will nix politics, on the other hand, there is no assurance, that the Mabilog couple will take sides in the full-blown political Armageddon between Treñas and Joe III.
Since most of former Mayor Mabilog’s key acolytes are now working with Mayor Espinosa, many City Hall occupants believe the Mabilogs will throw their support behind the incumbent mayor who was Mabilog’s running mate in the 2016 elections.

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But a reliable source informed this writer that the Mabilogs “might endorse no candidate for Iloilo City mayor.”
The Mabilogs are still reportedly “hurting” after nobody from the city government--meaning former Mayor Mabilog’s political allies in the city council, including then vice mayor Joe III and Rep. Treñas themselves--stood up to defend the embattled Mayor Mabilog from President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s relentless threats and attacks; and his false accusations that Mayor Mabilog was a “narco politician.”
Even Mayor Mabilog’s second cousin, Senator Franklin Drilon, did nothing to at least cushion the impact of the president’s lethal blows against the hapless Mabilog south of the border.
Whether the Mabilogs also have hard feelings toward their second cousin is something they alone know.
This revelation of a possible “non-support” from the Mabilog family must be painful to both (Treñas and Joe III) parties.
Those who cast doubts and question the motives of this disclosure can always verify the story from “authorized” people-or from the Mabilog husband and wife themselves for more precise and accurate information.

Will a Rosalie Treñas-Joe III tandem solve the skirmish?

“The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.”

 --Theodore Roosevelt

 By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III has refused to blink in the mind game versus his brother-in-law, Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas (PDP-Laban), and has finally let the cat out of the bag: Joe III is running for mayor on May 14, 2019.

This will pit Mayor Joe III against Treñas, reputed to be the new de facto political king of Iloilo City, the tag previously held by the late former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr.

Mayor Joe III’s decision has dashed to pieces all hopes of a potent Treñas-Espinosa family express train versus “the rest of the world”--meaning all the combined and throbbing political forces in Iloilo City wishing to eviscerate the “elite” political Treñas and Espinosa clans from the metropolis’ political map.

But wait a minute.

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Except for a “Divine intervention” as we mentioned here in the previous columns that includes an attempt to tap Mrs. Rosalie Treñas as candidate for congresswoman in a line-up with Mayor Joe III and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon.

This would mean Rep. Treñas “sacrificing” for his wife and canceling his bid to run for mayor if only to preserve their political family and wrest total control of Iloilo City’s political supremacy for the two hugely politically superior clans.

If Madame Rosalie, sister of Mayor Joe III’s wife, First Lady Gina, won’t run, there is no other “Divine intervention” that can be bruited about to salvage the irritating and frustrating falling-out of the two clans which developed when there was no clear and present threat from other political forces.

Rep. Treñas himself was still hoping that Mayor Joe III would change his heart and mind and run for congressman in order not to divide their formidable slate.

But recent developments showd Mayor Joe III was now willing to crosss the Rubicon river and risk being “eliminated” from the political landscape in the event he loses against Treñas in the battle for City Hall in 2019.

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Mayor Joe III believes he has gained the momentum by virtue of his having governed as city mayor without any hitch and obstacle, so far, since October 2017 when the Ombudsman ousted Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

In Mayor Joe III’s mind, there is no heavy negative issue to be thrown his way in the event his feud with Treñas goes full blast especially during the chaotic campaign period.

Only the entry of Madame Rosalie will change the entire picture for the time being.

As the saying goes, in every problem there is a solution.

Possible Jamjam Baronda vs Lex Tupas House duel ‘disheartening’

“Youth has no age.”
-Pablo Picasso

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I am one of those who expressed “sadness” when I heard from the grapevine recently that if the “rift” between Iloilo City Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas and Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III is not settled amicably, two of the most dynamic and young leaders of Iloilo City will be heading for a clash in the city’s lone congressional district in the May 14, 2019 Philippine elections.
“This is disheartening,” bemoaned a prominent member of the Iloilo City Trade Mission, who refused to be named “because both the young leaders are dear to me and I don’t want to preempt any ongoing political negotiations (among Iloilo City’s political leaders).”
She was referring to former Iloilo City councilors, Dr. Nielex “Lex” Tupas and Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda.

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Both are good friends and maintain cordial relationships off and on the political arena.
They also have lots of common supporters and admirers who consider them as Iloilo City’s Foghorn Leghorn and Chicken Hawk or Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, brimming with charisma and intelligence.
The grapevine added that if Treñas and Joe III won’t smoke the proverbial peace pipe soon, “Tupas might run for congressman under mayoral bet Treñas and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, while Baronda might run for congressman under Mayor Joe III and possibly, Councilor R Leone Gerochi, for vice mayor.”
If Baronda decides to pave the way for “graduating” Councilor Joshua Alim, the grapevine said it would be a battle between “three lawyers against a doctor, a lawyer, and a pastor.”
The three lawyers are Alim, Joe III, Gerochi while the doctor is Tupas, the lawyer is Treñas, and the pastor is Ganzon.
Alim’s possible inclusion in the Team Joe III will depend though on the results of “negotiations” and whether the powerhouse Gonzalez faction (composed of Dr. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, Dr. Marigold “Gold” Gonzalez, and former Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr.) will intermingle with the Team Joe III.

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One of the Gonzalezes’ favorite incumbent city officials, Councilor Plaridel Nava, is already “in” and was part of the Iloilo City Trade Mission here.
Nava, the only city councilor in the entourage, confirmed he won’t be seeking a higher elective office when his term expires in 2019.
Meanwhile, a Baronda versus Tupas clash for the city’s lone congressional district would be a real blockbuster, predicted a City Hall bigwig who was also in the trade mission.
“While Lex Tupas is extremely popular among the hoi polloi, Jamjam Baronda is also a darling of the young voters in the barangay,” the City Hall bigwig explained.
The City Hall bigwig, however, said “money will play a major factor between two extremely strong candidates for congressman.”
The City Hall bigwig said although Baronda, daughter of retired city health officer Dr. Nick Baronda and former city councilor, Dr. Julie Baronda, has been away from politics for quite a while after a May 2010 debacle when she lost to Joe III for vice mayor, “she has successfully linked with some influential incumbent senators in Metro Manila and other well-oiled patrons in Mindanao.”

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Baronda’s “loyal” youth brigades are still intact in the metropolis’ 180 barangays and have been “maintained” by her younger sister, Councilor Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda, the City Hall bigwig stressed.
Tupas, on the other hand, has been in the limelight when he became executive director of the National Youth Commission (NYC) from November 11, 2015 until May 5, 2017.
Tupas’ base in the grassroots is also solid and “growing” after being buttressed by his wife, Dr. Candice Alumisin-Tupas, who replaced him in the city council.
We expect all the comets and meteors to scoot and realign if Jamjam Baronda and Lex Tupas, both untarnished and very qualified, will collide.
Members of young and intelligent electorate, which comprise the “thinking” voters in 2019, will definitely have a hard time to choose between two pristine and promising national figures.
It’s like being made to choose between Joan of Arc and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both legends and highly regarded in their own right.

Joshua Alim might steal the show

“With but few exceptions, it is always the underdog who wins through sheer willpower.”
--Johnny Weissmuller

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- With 12 months to go before the 2019 congressional elections in the Philippines, Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III and brother-in-law, Iloilo City Rep. Jerry P. Treñas, are still adamant to disclose their complete line-up.
Their alleged “quarrel” has already bordered on soap opera.
Others swallow the “feud” hook, line and sinker; but some astute analysts think they’re just rerouting the procession which will eventually end up in the church anyway.
Aside from confirming that “I am definitely running in 2019”, Mayor Joe III has continued to keep his followers and critics in suspended terror; the mayor and the congressman have continued to cultivate an air of unpredictability (Law 17 of the 48 Laws of Power).
Although mayoralty aspirant Treñas has revealed his running mate would be Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, he hasn’t announced his candidate for congressman, a crux that has raised some eyebrows.
Egged by some confused supporters to “stay put” and run for city mayor versus Treñas, Mayor Joe III himself has refused to reveal his political cards for 2019, thus deepening the mystery further.
The million dollar question for Joe III is still: to run for mayor or to run for congressman alongside Treñas and Ganzon?
Their supporters in Iloilo City and abroad want to know.
Impatient and excited Ilonggos are hankering for an honest-to-goodness answer; they want it now, and they want it quick.
But even if we can bring the horses to water, still we can’t force them to drink.

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This will give trail horse Councilor Joshua Alim, the most senior among the incumbent oppositions in the city council, the opportunity to woo the Ilonggos and unveil his intention to run for the position to be vacated by Treñas.
Now that Alim has secured the support of businessman and former mayoral candidate Rommel Ynion and probably the Gonzalez political clan, led by matriarch Dr. Pacita Trinidad Gonzalez, he can be a sentimental favorite if he announces his bid soon.
While the Joe III-Treñas-Ganzon camp dilly-dallies on the disclosure of its ticket in the major positions, Alim may start barnstorming the metropolis’ 180 barangays where some of the newly elected officials are fresh faces and incorruptible.
In terms of political upset, Alim may use 1992 political neophyte Rafael “Paeng” Lopez-Vito as a model and rallying point.
Even before then semi-retired former senator Rodolfo “Roding” Ganzon announced his intention to run for congressman in the city’s lone district, Lopez-Vito, a lawyer and a political nobody, was already literally painting the town red, announcing to all and sundry he was running for congressman even months before the start of election season.
Nobody gave the “elite” Lopez-Vito a slim chance to bring down the vastly mighty Ganzon, but the shocking defeat of formerly one of the country’s much-heralded lawmakers in the class of Ferdinand Marcos, Jovito Salonga and Ninoy Aquino to a “wet-behind-the-ears” Lopez-Vito became a hot and serious topic in political science classes for more than two decades.

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Alim, 53, is one of the only few Iloilo City officials--past and incumbent--who is consistent in his crusade against Panay Electric Company’s (PECO) alleged inefficiency, overcharging, among other “abuses.”
Even before he became a city councilor, Alim was already in the forefront of the battle against PECO’s “astronomical” distribution and generation fees along with feisty lawyer Romeo Gerochi, father of Councilor R Leone "Boots" Gerochi, and the late former city councilor German T. Gonzales in early 1990s.
Although some “ingrate” Ilonggo consumers did not go all out for Alim in his losing bid for city mayor against Treñas in 2004, the pride of Koronadal, South Cotabato continued to score high in public approval ratings these past years.
Former media colleague Florence Hibionada described Alim as “a very sincere public servant who visits a vigil for the dead even without the elections.”
He has friends and admirers in all sectors, especially the urban poor, the youth and the senior citizens.

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Alim, my former media colleague and kumpare (we are godfathers to the twins, Raymond and Rainier, sons of Iloilo community affairs chief Nereo Lujan), has carved a niche in public service during his days as a Bombo Radyo Iloilo reporter in the late 80’s until he passed the bar in 1991.
As a newly minted lawyer, he agreed to face his former law professor in the Central Philippine University (CPU), now Judge Nery Duremdes, in a media labor case, the first controversial case he handled as associate of Bedona and Bedona Law Offices in 1992, and won.
When I volunteered to enter the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) jail (I was ordered by then ICPO chief Dionisio Duco) for “fighting” in 1993, then Atty. Alim, clad in Barong Tagalog, arrived and chided me, “Pre, naga ano ka da sa sulod man? Indi ka da angayan gua da (Buddy, what are you doing inside? You don’t belong there. Get out!).”
If the mayoral contest will be crowded, Alim, who has never been tainted as a public servant, may be ripe to shoot for the congressional seat.
Some of his peers in the law profession in Mindanao and other parts of the country may be waiting for him in Congress.