A. Paulita Roa
THE legendary Mayor Justiniano “Tinying” Borja, the first elected city mayor of Cagayan de Oro, was a handsome man who seldom smiled. His facial expression was described as serious and “morag Viernes Santo.” Yet, he was well respected and loved by his constituents that they elected him as their city mayor for three consecutive terms. The last one was cut short when he died while on an official trip to Manila.The whole city mourned for him and gave the biggest funeral the City has ever witnessed for decades.
I remember his last election campaign since my father always ran for councilor under his ticket. A huge billboard of the J.R. Borja team was set up in the present site of the BDO building in Divisoria. Borja was painted by the artist in his unsmiling self and wearing his usual work clothes--crisp white polo shirt, denim pants and his signature sunglasses. He was shown in his favorite pose, that of standing with both hands on his pockets. His former close associate, Reuben R. Canoy, once asked him why he liked to put his hands on his pockets. The mayor quickly replied that it was better that way than have his hands holding to government money! In his time, campaign speeches were never done “bahug-bahug” style. It was often educational. Borja, like his charismatic political mentor, Emmanuel “Maning” Pelaez, knew how to hold his listeners in the palm of his hand. His speeches were never boring and had deep political insights on then current political issues. He sometimes quoted famous poets and philosophers and added several touches of humour along the way.
Campaign styles were varied and at times, quite modest.The first time Dr. Blas “Loloy” Velez ran for councilor, he and his wife, Eva went around Cagayan quietly and campaigned “door to door style.” Needless to say, this son of local hero, Col. Apolinar Velez, won without any support from a big political machinery. My father would make it a point to visit his relatives before the elections and a relative recalled that he told his mother this: “Neng, hapit na sad ang pinili-ay. Remember that blood is thicker than water.” That was all. There was no impassioned plea for relatives to vote for him just a gentle reminder of their blood relations. I was mortified to hear this. But then, it is a different and albeit a quite common scenario now of close relatives being divided as a family because a son is running against his own father for the same position during the elections. How times have changed for the worse!
I remember the late Gov. Concordio C. Diel who started his political career by running as councilor of the city. He was a political newbie then and thought of using his gift of delivering a balak (Visayan poem) in every rally. Like he made a balak about the moon and the stars over Canitoan. This went on to the next barrio of Pagatpat and so on--how the moon and the stellar skies wove its magic on the fields of the barrio. Diel, the magbabalak, won of course. But let’s not forget the fact that the first municipal presidente or mayor of Cagayan, who was elected in 1898, was also a poet by the name of Toribio Chaves y Roa.
There once was a candidate who ran for city mayor against Mayor Borja. He was the talk of the town for he was unconventional and truth to tell, people were shocked and at the same time amused by his pronouncements. He promised the electorate that when elected as the mayor of Cagayan de Oro, he will make his office under the shade of the sambag tree that once stood by the side of the old City Hall building. He reasoned that this way, people can come to him easily and at the same time see how he works for their welfare.
At his Miting de Avance in Divisoria, a big crowd came to hear him speak and be entertained. “I will win over Tinying Borja!” he exclaimed, “After I am officially proclaimed the winner, I will go to Malacanang to get nails, cement, wires and other materials that our city needs.” One old man who stood near the stage laughed and commented in a loud voice for all to hear, “Hoy! Unsa diay ang Malacanang? Hardware store?” As predicted, the candidate was clobbered at the polls. But he had the temerity to lodge an election protest for he got a zero in his wife’s precinct. He was sure that her lone vote was not counted in her favor. It turned out that she voted for Borja and not for him.
Today’s election campaigns are laced with scandals, exposes and black propaganda that get nastier and uglier by the day. Somewhere in the corner of my mind are memories of a gentler era--of poets tuned politicians, of a well-loved but glum faced mayor who was the exact opposite of the jolly, backslapping politician, of politicos who were brilliant speakers that strove to educate the masa on what good governance was all about. It was that time when Kagay-anons were known to be intelligent voters who elected in to office hardworking and honest individuals that helped build Cagayan de Oro to what it is today--a prosperous and highly urbanized city in Northern Mindanao. I hope that this coming May 9, 2016, we will elect officials that will bring the big change local governance our beloved city sorely needs.
