“Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.”
--Lao Tzu
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If guns are blazing and the intention is to kill, there is violence.
If violence is unabated, there is a breakdown of peace and order.
If high-profile personalities like Samuel Aguilar, president of Eagle Crest Gaming and Holdings Corp., operator of STL in Iloilo province, can be ambushed by unidentified gunmen in broad daylight, there is no guarantee that ordinary people won’t be harmed by gun-toting maniacs.
Guns, or any deadly weapon for that matter, aren’t supposed to be in the hands of those who intend to create murder and mayhem; it’s the job of the police to seize loose firearms before they can be used to harm civilians.
Could the assailants have been accosted if the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) had a check point within Brgy. Buyuan in Tigbauan town where the ambush happened?
If the area is isolated and in a national highway, it’s easy for the trigger-men to escape and avoid police check points and other dragnets.
-o0o-
Whether business-related or personal, Aguilar probably knows who wanted him dead especially if it was not the first attempt against his life.
Five months ago, Aguilar also reportedly survived the first attempt by unidentified gunmen to also kill him in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
For sure, the mastermind or masterminds did not intend to only scare him.
The grapevine says that anybody who is involved in gambling operations, legal or otherwise, in Iloilo province must have a powerful "padrino" for protection and “profit-sharing.”
If Aguilar is not from Iloilo and doesn’t have a “padrino”, it’s a big “problem.”
One of the most prominent personalities in Iloilo gambling operation, a former Philippine Constabulary (PC) sergeant, was murdered in cold blood in Iloilo City four years ago.
And he was an Ilonggo.
-o0o-
After hurriedly announcing on February 23, 2018 that the former employers of murdered OFW Joanna Demafiles of Sara, Iloilo have been arrested, nothing has been heard again from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
As I mentioned earlier, the “arrest” of suspects Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, and his wife, Mona, a Syrian national, is one thing.
Whether they will be prosecuted and be made to answer for the grisly murder is another thing.
Let’s hope all the spectacle that attended Demafiles’ sensational case will not end up in a blunderbuss and buried in newspaper files. We need action aside from condemnation.
What now, DFA?
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Treñas, Joe III feuding? Tell it to the marines
“In a false quarrel there is no true valor.”
--William Shakespeare
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I won’t gamble my fifteen cents to swallow hook, line, and sinker the suspicions--or rumors-- that Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas and Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III are now at loggerheads and heading to Splitsville.
But I won’t be surprised also if they will take advantage of the flap and use the puzzle to confuse their political enemies.
If the basis of these suspicions or rumors was the “irrevocable” resignations of the six so-called “Treñas Musketeers” -- Melchor Tan, Jose Rico, Maria Irene Ong, Hector Alejano, Mitch Antiqueña, and Rudiver Jungco Sr. -- as Joe III’s advisers, we have more reason not to fret over the present political relationship of the congressman and the city mayor.
Joe III could not have sacked the six, who were reportedly having a meeting with Treñas outside city hall when Joe III called them out for a meeting.
A case of a bad timing or the city mayor decided to abruptly call for a meeting when he learned the six were outside the barracks?
And he only wanted to show them who’s the boss when he tasked executive assistant Jojo Castro to “chide” the six and to refrain from “paddling their canoe in two rivers.”
Whether there is a tampuhan between Joe III and the six, the tampuhan does not have to translate into a full-blown political conflict.
Mature people can easily shrug off any potential time bomb that would divide and eventually bring the house into wobbly legs.
-o0o-
Both Treñas and Joe III could actually benefit from perception that they are having a cold war.
This would send mixed and confusing signals to their political rivals.
Treñas has already signified his intention to run again for mayor in 2019, while Joe III has not yet made up his mind whether to run for congressman, which is the only logical move if he will avoid a collision course with his bilas (their wives are sisters), or quit politics, which isn’t about to happen judging from Joe III’s excitement and appetite for public service since capturing city hall in October 2017 when the Ombudsman ousted Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Could it be that Treñas and Joe III, by “acting” as Punch and Judy, were reading the Laws 6, 17, and 37 of the 48 Laws of Power?
-o0o-
LAW 6 (CREATE AN AIR OF MYSTERY) says, “Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do. Do not show all your cards. Mystery and uncertainty create anticipation - everyone will want to know what comes next. Use mystery to beguile, seduce, even frighten.”
LAW 17 (KEEP OTHERS IN SUSPENSE: CULTIVATE AN AIR OF UNPREDICTABILITY) says, “Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.”
LAW 37 (CREATE COMPELLING SPECTACLES) says,
“Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power - everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.”
If these “laws” or the messages they convey happen to reflect some nerve-tingling coincidences and similarities in the scenarios currently unfolding in Iloilo City’s political landscape, you be the final arbiter.
--William Shakespeare
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I won’t gamble my fifteen cents to swallow hook, line, and sinker the suspicions--or rumors-- that Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas and Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III are now at loggerheads and heading to Splitsville.
But I won’t be surprised also if they will take advantage of the flap and use the puzzle to confuse their political enemies.
If the basis of these suspicions or rumors was the “irrevocable” resignations of the six so-called “Treñas Musketeers” -- Melchor Tan, Jose Rico, Maria Irene Ong, Hector Alejano, Mitch Antiqueña, and Rudiver Jungco Sr. -- as Joe III’s advisers, we have more reason not to fret over the present political relationship of the congressman and the city mayor.
Joe III could not have sacked the six, who were reportedly having a meeting with Treñas outside city hall when Joe III called them out for a meeting.
A case of a bad timing or the city mayor decided to abruptly call for a meeting when he learned the six were outside the barracks?
And he only wanted to show them who’s the boss when he tasked executive assistant Jojo Castro to “chide” the six and to refrain from “paddling their canoe in two rivers.”
Whether there is a tampuhan between Joe III and the six, the tampuhan does not have to translate into a full-blown political conflict.
Mature people can easily shrug off any potential time bomb that would divide and eventually bring the house into wobbly legs.
-o0o-
Both Treñas and Joe III could actually benefit from perception that they are having a cold war.
This would send mixed and confusing signals to their political rivals.
Treñas has already signified his intention to run again for mayor in 2019, while Joe III has not yet made up his mind whether to run for congressman, which is the only logical move if he will avoid a collision course with his bilas (their wives are sisters), or quit politics, which isn’t about to happen judging from Joe III’s excitement and appetite for public service since capturing city hall in October 2017 when the Ombudsman ousted Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Could it be that Treñas and Joe III, by “acting” as Punch and Judy, were reading the Laws 6, 17, and 37 of the 48 Laws of Power?
-o0o-
LAW 6 (CREATE AN AIR OF MYSTERY) says, “Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do. Do not show all your cards. Mystery and uncertainty create anticipation - everyone will want to know what comes next. Use mystery to beguile, seduce, even frighten.”
LAW 17 (KEEP OTHERS IN SUSPENSE: CULTIVATE AN AIR OF UNPREDICTABILITY) says, “Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.”
LAW 37 (CREATE COMPELLING SPECTACLES) says,
“Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power - everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.”
If these “laws” or the messages they convey happen to reflect some nerve-tingling coincidences and similarities in the scenarios currently unfolding in Iloilo City’s political landscape, you be the final arbiter.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Pacquiao-Roach love affair: Walang forever
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
--Hal Borland
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- For 17 years, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach became boxing’s version of Kirk and Michael Douglas, Julio and Enrique Iglesias, and Arthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur.
They were a father and a son who epitomize congruence and plausibility.
It seemed like they were destined to swap engagement rings and share an epitaph.
No amount of intrigue and jealousy from other trainers and pugilists could put a dent in their solid romance as athlete-coach.
Not even a boarder wall could divide boxing’s most sensational and formidable partners.
Their collaboration since 2001 has produced some of the finest and head-turning performances in the history of prizefighting since Welsh sportsman John Graham Chambers wrote the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1865.
Their tandem has bankrolled the fistic game’s richest deal ever imagined, richer than what Muhammad Ali had earned in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 and “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 combined.
Unlike David and Jonathan, whose covenant of friendship has been recorded in the books of Samuel, the Manny-Freddie liaison has been written in the mayhem inflicted on some of the marquee names run over by the Pacquiao Express.
-o0o-
“Walang forever,” so goes the bakya Tagalog saying.
“Everything is ephemeral: on a long enough timeline, everything ends,” suggest the minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.
“Your relationships will end. Your happiness will end. Your depression will end. Your life will end. Nothing lasts forever--not even those diamonds in the advertisement.
Yet we live our lives like the best things will continue into perpetuity--like the good stuff will stick around and the bad stuff will go away once we obtain everything we want. But, good or bad, life is limited: everything is eventual, endings are inevitable.”
In his comeback fight on June 24, 2018 in Malaysia since losing to Jeff Horn in Brisbane on July 2, 2017, Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) will fight Golden Boy Promotions’ ace fighter, WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) for 12 rounds without Roach on his side.
For the first time since Pacquiao made a debut in Las Vegas in 2001 versus Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF super-bantamweight diadem, Roach won’t train him before a championship bout.
The 39-year-old Pacquiao’s training will be supervised by his childhood buddy, Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, and will be mostly held in Mindanao starting April.
It appears there was a falling out between Top Rank’s Bob Arum and the MP Promotions owned by the senator-boxer regarding the latter’s tax troubles with the IRS which has remained unsettled.
The Malaysia fisticuffs need at least $15 million and Arum remains skeptical unless an affront fund of $5 million has been released.
--Hal Borland
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- For 17 years, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach became boxing’s version of Kirk and Michael Douglas, Julio and Enrique Iglesias, and Arthur Jr. and Douglas MacArthur.
They were a father and a son who epitomize congruence and plausibility.
It seemed like they were destined to swap engagement rings and share an epitaph.
No amount of intrigue and jealousy from other trainers and pugilists could put a dent in their solid romance as athlete-coach.
Not even a boarder wall could divide boxing’s most sensational and formidable partners.
Their collaboration since 2001 has produced some of the finest and head-turning performances in the history of prizefighting since Welsh sportsman John Graham Chambers wrote the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1865.
Their tandem has bankrolled the fistic game’s richest deal ever imagined, richer than what Muhammad Ali had earned in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 and “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 combined.
Unlike David and Jonathan, whose covenant of friendship has been recorded in the books of Samuel, the Manny-Freddie liaison has been written in the mayhem inflicted on some of the marquee names run over by the Pacquiao Express.
-o0o-
“Walang forever,” so goes the bakya Tagalog saying.
“Everything is ephemeral: on a long enough timeline, everything ends,” suggest the minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.
“Your relationships will end. Your happiness will end. Your depression will end. Your life will end. Nothing lasts forever--not even those diamonds in the advertisement.
Yet we live our lives like the best things will continue into perpetuity--like the good stuff will stick around and the bad stuff will go away once we obtain everything we want. But, good or bad, life is limited: everything is eventual, endings are inevitable.”
In his comeback fight on June 24, 2018 in Malaysia since losing to Jeff Horn in Brisbane on July 2, 2017, Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) will fight Golden Boy Promotions’ ace fighter, WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) for 12 rounds without Roach on his side.
For the first time since Pacquiao made a debut in Las Vegas in 2001 versus Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF super-bantamweight diadem, Roach won’t train him before a championship bout.
The 39-year-old Pacquiao’s training will be supervised by his childhood buddy, Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, and will be mostly held in Mindanao starting April.
It appears there was a falling out between Top Rank’s Bob Arum and the MP Promotions owned by the senator-boxer regarding the latter’s tax troubles with the IRS which has remained unsettled.
The Malaysia fisticuffs need at least $15 million and Arum remains skeptical unless an affront fund of $5 million has been released.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Herbert Vego’s pain
“During my days of deepest grief, in all of my shock, sorrow and struggle, I sat at the feet of God. I literally spent hours each day reading God's word, meditating on scripture and praying. I intentionally spent a significant amount of time being still before God.”
--Rick Warren
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Only a handful of people know the weight being carried nowadays by our senior media colleague, Mr. Herbert Vego, inside his heart and mind.
I learned about this “weight” buried deep inside Mr. Vego’s heart and mind when I was in New Jersey in January this year.
Some of our friends, who have seen Mr. Vego these past weeks, may have noticed something unusual in the way he speaks and the sadness that illuminates in his 68-year-old face.
It is the kind of grief we normally see in the face of a moribund man; the kind of melancholy that can only be washed away by Divine Intervention.
-o0o-
Thus, the punches Mr. Vego absorbed on the face when he was attacked by barangay captain Sumakwel Nava in the coffee shop of Hotel del Rio in Iloilo City on March 7 were peanuts compared to the real pain he has been concealing in his heart and mind these past two months.
Mr. Vego would probably be willing to take more of those punches and other physical “punishments” if they could only solve and instantly expunge the real thorn that has been tormenting his heart and mind since January this year.
If you will know what this problem is, you will probably embrace Mr. Vego instead of hurting him physically.
-o0o-
I would like to share this letter to Mr. Herbert Vego entitled “Daddy” by Mindy Pfankuch Pfankuch
Daddy,
You were one of the first I laid eyes on when I came into this world
I didn't know you at first but you were my daddy and later to become my hero
You were one of the first I loved
I chose you over my pink stuffed bear
I loved how you'd pick my up and hug me I'd feel so secure
You'd lift me with one arm way above your head and play helicopter
As I started to grow you taught me to stand and walk
You'd guide me so carefully so I wouldn't fall
Once I began to walk on my own you stood close by just in case I fell down
If I did you'd pick me up -
Wipe the tears off my face and kiss my pain away
Once I got older I didn't need your help walking but I needed your love and time
We'd play basketball, if I couldn't reach the basket you'd lift me up so I could -
Making me feel like I was number one
You taught me how to shoot a gun and to not be afraid
You always helped me find a car in my price range that I liked
You showed me how to change the oil in my car,
I'm the only one of my friends that knows how, which make me feel smart
You'd do almost anything to see me happy
You always encourage me to try my best, and support me one hundred and ten percent
I've come to realize that I'm a lot like you
You help me realize common sense isn't that common
You also taught me to be witty
I follow in your steps of being a smart aleck
You taught me how to deal with people and how to get what I want
And when ever some one says:
You're just like your dad I can't help but smile and be proud
You're not only my dad but you're my hero
Dad even though I'm growing up I still need your loving bear hugs,
And encouraging words of wisdom
Don't forget I will always be your little baby girl
And you will always be my loving father and hero
I love you dad!
Love always Mindy
--Rick Warren
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Only a handful of people know the weight being carried nowadays by our senior media colleague, Mr. Herbert Vego, inside his heart and mind.
I learned about this “weight” buried deep inside Mr. Vego’s heart and mind when I was in New Jersey in January this year.
Some of our friends, who have seen Mr. Vego these past weeks, may have noticed something unusual in the way he speaks and the sadness that illuminates in his 68-year-old face.
It is the kind of grief we normally see in the face of a moribund man; the kind of melancholy that can only be washed away by Divine Intervention.
-o0o-
Thus, the punches Mr. Vego absorbed on the face when he was attacked by barangay captain Sumakwel Nava in the coffee shop of Hotel del Rio in Iloilo City on March 7 were peanuts compared to the real pain he has been concealing in his heart and mind these past two months.
Mr. Vego would probably be willing to take more of those punches and other physical “punishments” if they could only solve and instantly expunge the real thorn that has been tormenting his heart and mind since January this year.
If you will know what this problem is, you will probably embrace Mr. Vego instead of hurting him physically.
-o0o-
I would like to share this letter to Mr. Herbert Vego entitled “Daddy” by Mindy Pfankuch Pfankuch
Daddy,
You were one of the first I laid eyes on when I came into this world
I didn't know you at first but you were my daddy and later to become my hero
You were one of the first I loved
I chose you over my pink stuffed bear
I loved how you'd pick my up and hug me I'd feel so secure
You'd lift me with one arm way above your head and play helicopter
As I started to grow you taught me to stand and walk
You'd guide me so carefully so I wouldn't fall
Once I began to walk on my own you stood close by just in case I fell down
If I did you'd pick me up -
Wipe the tears off my face and kiss my pain away
Once I got older I didn't need your help walking but I needed your love and time
We'd play basketball, if I couldn't reach the basket you'd lift me up so I could -
Making me feel like I was number one
You taught me how to shoot a gun and to not be afraid
You always helped me find a car in my price range that I liked
You showed me how to change the oil in my car,
I'm the only one of my friends that knows how, which make me feel smart
You'd do almost anything to see me happy
You always encourage me to try my best, and support me one hundred and ten percent
I've come to realize that I'm a lot like you
You help me realize common sense isn't that common
You also taught me to be witty
I follow in your steps of being a smart aleck
You taught me how to deal with people and how to get what I want
And when ever some one says:
You're just like your dad I can't help but smile and be proud
You're not only my dad but you're my hero
Dad even though I'm growing up I still need your loving bear hugs,
And encouraging words of wisdom
Don't forget I will always be your little baby girl
And you will always be my loving father and hero
I love you dad!
Love always Mindy
Monday, March 5, 2018
Like a Miss Universe with a body odor
“I hate to say this, but I'll repeat it: After death, all we know that you do is stink.”
--Jack Kevorkian
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- Let’s not be confused by the ongoing furor over Boracay Island, tagged as a “cesspool” by President Duterte, and threatened with a closure after being hounded by an ecological crisis.
--Jack Kevorkian
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- Let’s not be confused by the ongoing furor over Boracay Island, tagged as a “cesspool” by President Duterte, and threatened with a closure after being hounded by an ecological crisis.
Boracay isn’t doomed yet. It is still pristine as anyone who has been there can imagine.
It hasn’t lost its luster and beauty in the eyes of a true-blue beach goer.
As a matter of fact, statistics show more visitors from all corners of the globe continue to arrive weeks after the presidential dressing down.
Tourists are unfazed by Boracay’s environmental woes and aren’t worried by the danger of swallowing algae in the waters.
There is no doubt that the white beach in Malay, Aklan in the Philippines remains to be one of the best beaches in the world.
In fact, in TripAdvisor's 2018 Traveler's Choice Awards, the island located in the central Philippines ranks second among white beaches in Asia.
-o0o-
The problems on environment and apparent neglect by some municipal officials are matters that Boracay stakeholders and the local government unit (LGU) will have to address seriously if we hope to sustain the beach’s life and reputation.
Just like other tourist spots anywhere in the world, Boracay has its own share of infamy and infirmities.
There is no perfect tourist destination in the world.
Even individual beauties have demerits and foibles.
Not all bodybuilding icons are healthy.
Not all beauty titlists have excellent hygiene.
Boracay’s case can be likened to a Miss Universe with a body odor.
The facade is startling, but underneath the armpits, there’s a stink that even a loving mother can’t tolerate and bear inhaling.
President Duterte and the environment and local government officials are the loving mothers trying to convince the Miss Universe daughter to take a bath and eradicate the unwanted dead rats in spaces between body and arms.
Amid the admonition and cleanliness program, life must go on for the Miss Universe.
In other words, Boracay should still be “business as usual” amid the hullabaloo.
-o0o-
Nothing can now stop the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Phase II (JRMP II) project in Calinog, Iloilo.
Once the project’s actual construction unfolds in June this year, more Ilonggos will be benefited--from vendors to suppliers of construction materials, and job seekers.
More importantly it will solve the perennial problem on flash floods, irrigation of 32,000 hectares of farm lands, supply of water to households and business, and produce some 17,000 local jobs.
Due to its economic costs, social and environmental impacts and potential for environmental disasters it was dubbed as a “mega damn”.
It hasn’t lost its luster and beauty in the eyes of a true-blue beach goer.
As a matter of fact, statistics show more visitors from all corners of the globe continue to arrive weeks after the presidential dressing down.
Tourists are unfazed by Boracay’s environmental woes and aren’t worried by the danger of swallowing algae in the waters.
There is no doubt that the white beach in Malay, Aklan in the Philippines remains to be one of the best beaches in the world.
In fact, in TripAdvisor's 2018 Traveler's Choice Awards, the island located in the central Philippines ranks second among white beaches in Asia.
-o0o-
The problems on environment and apparent neglect by some municipal officials are matters that Boracay stakeholders and the local government unit (LGU) will have to address seriously if we hope to sustain the beach’s life and reputation.
Just like other tourist spots anywhere in the world, Boracay has its own share of infamy and infirmities.
There is no perfect tourist destination in the world.
Even individual beauties have demerits and foibles.
Not all bodybuilding icons are healthy.
Not all beauty titlists have excellent hygiene.
Boracay’s case can be likened to a Miss Universe with a body odor.
The facade is startling, but underneath the armpits, there’s a stink that even a loving mother can’t tolerate and bear inhaling.
President Duterte and the environment and local government officials are the loving mothers trying to convince the Miss Universe daughter to take a bath and eradicate the unwanted dead rats in spaces between body and arms.
Amid the admonition and cleanliness program, life must go on for the Miss Universe.
In other words, Boracay should still be “business as usual” amid the hullabaloo.
-o0o-
Nothing can now stop the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Phase II (JRMP II) project in Calinog, Iloilo.
Once the project’s actual construction unfolds in June this year, more Ilonggos will be benefited--from vendors to suppliers of construction materials, and job seekers.
More importantly it will solve the perennial problem on flash floods, irrigation of 32,000 hectares of farm lands, supply of water to households and business, and produce some 17,000 local jobs.
Due to its economic costs, social and environmental impacts and potential for environmental disasters it was dubbed as a “mega damn”.
Treñas, Joe III shutting the political doors
“In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”
--George Orwell
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- As expected, those who are for and against Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas couldn’t hide their emotions when he disclosed over the weekend his intention to run again for city mayor in 2019.
For those who admire Treñas, the announcement was like a Broadway music to their ears.
For those who hate him, especially those intending to run for city mayor but are nervous to square off with him owing to his “vast” machinery and name-recall edge, the disclosure of Treñas 2019 candidacy was like a rhythmic sound from a horror or zombie film.
In fact, the announcement of Treñas’ candidacy was already “too much to bear” for the opposition.
-o0o-
The unexpected ascension to power of Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III in October 2017 was already a big blow to the opposition which was having a field day watching Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog being destroyed by President Duterte’s repeated but unfounded accusations of being a “narco politician.”
The opposition waited on tenterhooks for Mabilog to capitulate from Duterte’s demolition apparatus and deliver their own coup de grâce in time for the 2019 political derby.
The opposition believed that during election time, it’s easy to clobber the badly battered Mabilog just in case he aspired for congress.
But the picture changed abruptly when the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Mabilog and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) installed then acting city mayor Espinosa III in a full-fledged capacity.
By being given the chance and privilege to become “instant” mayor and finish Mabilog’s remaining term, Espinosa III was able to expand his wherewithal and pull ahead of his potential rivals in 2019 in the event he decides to run for mayor.
-o0o-
If Espinosa III will run for congress in tandem with mayoral bet Treñas next year, it’s tantamount to shutting the door on lesser-known aspirants for the same positions.
In terms of logistics and name-recall, the incumbents always have the peripheral edge in any election.
And if they are the administration candidates, their opponents would need a stairway to heaven to mount a miracle to win.
Not to underestimate them, the opposition still parades a wealth of quality leaders the Ilonggos can be proud of like Dr. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, her daughter Dr. Marigold “Gold” Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, Councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava, businessman-journalist Rommel Ynion, former councilor Rolando Dabao, and former Erap impeachment trial prosecutor Daniel Cartagena, to name only a few.
-o0o-
Treñas’ candidacy will, however, bring additional agony and headache for the opposition which, for the past four consecutive elections, could not find the magic key to unlock the path to the winning column.
After absorbing defeat after defeat, the opposition continues to scramble for politically sturdy candidates who can match the ferocity of the Mabilog-Treñas-Espinosa III triumvirate.
Minus Mabilog, Treñas and Espinosa III appear to be capable of closing the gates for other aspirants.
All they need is to swap.
--George Orwell
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- As expected, those who are for and against Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas couldn’t hide their emotions when he disclosed over the weekend his intention to run again for city mayor in 2019.
For those who admire Treñas, the announcement was like a Broadway music to their ears.
For those who hate him, especially those intending to run for city mayor but are nervous to square off with him owing to his “vast” machinery and name-recall edge, the disclosure of Treñas 2019 candidacy was like a rhythmic sound from a horror or zombie film.
In fact, the announcement of Treñas’ candidacy was already “too much to bear” for the opposition.
-o0o-
The unexpected ascension to power of Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III in October 2017 was already a big blow to the opposition which was having a field day watching Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog being destroyed by President Duterte’s repeated but unfounded accusations of being a “narco politician.”
The opposition waited on tenterhooks for Mabilog to capitulate from Duterte’s demolition apparatus and deliver their own coup de grâce in time for the 2019 political derby.
The opposition believed that during election time, it’s easy to clobber the badly battered Mabilog just in case he aspired for congress.
But the picture changed abruptly when the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Mabilog and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) installed then acting city mayor Espinosa III in a full-fledged capacity.
By being given the chance and privilege to become “instant” mayor and finish Mabilog’s remaining term, Espinosa III was able to expand his wherewithal and pull ahead of his potential rivals in 2019 in the event he decides to run for mayor.
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If Espinosa III will run for congress in tandem with mayoral bet Treñas next year, it’s tantamount to shutting the door on lesser-known aspirants for the same positions.
In terms of logistics and name-recall, the incumbents always have the peripheral edge in any election.
And if they are the administration candidates, their opponents would need a stairway to heaven to mount a miracle to win.
Not to underestimate them, the opposition still parades a wealth of quality leaders the Ilonggos can be proud of like Dr. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, her daughter Dr. Marigold “Gold” Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, Councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava, businessman-journalist Rommel Ynion, former councilor Rolando Dabao, and former Erap impeachment trial prosecutor Daniel Cartagena, to name only a few.
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Treñas’ candidacy will, however, bring additional agony and headache for the opposition which, for the past four consecutive elections, could not find the magic key to unlock the path to the winning column.
After absorbing defeat after defeat, the opposition continues to scramble for politically sturdy candidates who can match the ferocity of the Mabilog-Treñas-Espinosa III triumvirate.
Minus Mabilog, Treñas and Espinosa III appear to be capable of closing the gates for other aspirants.
All they need is to swap.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Alex P. Vidal Quotes (Death, Problems)
Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.
-- JOSEPH STALIN :
God did not allow problems to exist so that man will perish if he is unable to solve them. Problem is a polarity in life. Without it we will have no time or even interest to call, remember, or acknowledge God’s omnipotence and omniscience.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- JOSEPH STALIN :
God did not allow problems to exist so that man will perish if he is unable to solve them. Problem is a polarity in life. Without it we will have no time or even interest to call, remember, or acknowledge God’s omnipotence and omniscience.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
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