Singing to a different tune

By:  Ben Contreras

FOR a while, the war front seems quiet until after I came home from Claveria.  A letter from Barangay 23 chair Jaime Frias was on my table. It is a copy of Frias’s letter to Councilor Bong Lao, expressing dismay over the cold shoulder on the barangay executive’s issue on Lifestyle District.

“I felt offended how deal (sic) with my complaint regarding Lifestyle District. You took it lightly and not of your usual fighting form as such against the wards of ex-Mayor Dongkoy Emano and his Padayon Pilipino (sic).”

Honestly speaking, Lao never impressed me with his fighting form because they’ve been shallow all the time, typical of a traditional politician.

When we were fighting against the coal-fired power plant in Villanueva, and were rallying at the DENR entrance against the EMB, Lao was with us, delivering a message. Of course, he looked like he was in fighting form. But more than a week later, he was singing to a different tune. We were all taken aback.

Vice Gov. Jose Mari Pelaez also did that. “We already have Steag. Another one is not acceptable,” he said. Later, they––the vice governor and some of the Sangguniang Panglalawigan members––were also singing to a different tune.

My advice to Frias: read between the lines. Lifestyle is operated by a super rich family. If one cannot use connections and power, money can be the last recourse.

A sister of a city hall consultant posted on Facebook her problems on Lifestyle. If she solved it on her own, then she truly is admirable. But I suspect her brother may have also helped her. But if she threw urine on them, I would say, “Bravo.”

If Lifestyle and the Regulatory and Complaints Board (RCB) continue to turn a blind eye to this, there will be blood in their hands if something happens one day either inside or outside the perimeter. A rumble among intoxicated youth or even shooting––accidental or intentional––at the parking area is not farfetched. Tell me if it never happened before.

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Misamis Oriental State College of Agriculture and Technology (Moscat) president Rosalito Quirino tried to inject humor into a serious discussion but the insights he provided us deserve support from everyone.

Although not his Alma Mater, he was successful in turning what Moscat used to be into today’s grandeur in just four years or so as its president.

It is ironic that those who own vast tracts of land in Claveria never believed in the school which is in their own backyard. It has been offering what could make their farms productive and economically beneficial. Not even their children were encouraged to take up agriculture or related courses that could have been applied in their own farms.

Depending on the course, their curricula are mostly patterned to the corresponding country in need of such expertise. It paves the way for their graduates to gain employment with handsome pays and better future.

Thirty-percent of Moscat faculty members are master degree holders. As such, we can expect them to produce able graduates.

Thank you, Mr. Quirino and staff, for the tour to your dairy farm, the mushroom production area, the merienda and lunch, and the wonderful insights into what Moscat is today.

If I were to have children entering college, I would encourage them to take up agriculture. Our country should be more agricultural than industrial. It’s been said time and again that our soil is so rich that you can throw a piece of corn grain anywhere and it would grow.