Calingin, Baculio running in Misor

By Herbie Gomez
Goldstar Editor

WITHOUT much fanfare, former governor Antonio Calingin and former congressman Augusto Baculio Jr. have separately launched their bids to reclaim their old posts in Misamis Oriental. Both have confirmed that they would file their certificates of candidacy next week.

Calingin would run for mayor of Claveria, his hometown where he served three full office terms as local chief executive before he won his first election as the province’s governor in 1998.

Baculio, meanwhile, would challenge the reelection bid of Rep. Juliette Uy in the province’s 2nd District.

This was first revealed by former Talisayan mayor Arturo Sumanpan, a known Calingin confidant, in an interview with this paper on Thursday.

Sumanpan, who confirmed that he would run for mayor in Talisayan, said Calingin and Baculio have gravitated towards each other and would likely run under the PDP-Laban.

In a phone interview on Thursday night, Calingin confirmed that he was set on running for mayor in his hometown, possibly against Miraluna Abrogar, the town’s vice mayor and a daughter of Mayor Redentor Salvaleon.

Calingin said he was seeing a three-cornered fight in Claveria because another politician, former vice mayor Alfred Azcuna, was also interested on becoming the town’s leader.

“I could have opted to enjoy and just live my life peacefully, away from politics, but there is a clamor for change in my hometown, and people, including a priest, have repeatedly asked me to lead them again,” Calingin said.

Baculio, for his part, also confirmed that he would run for congressman in the 2nd District, the one and only elective post he held in his political career.

In a phone interview yesterday morning, Baculio said he was confident that he could win back his old post.

“I won in more municipalities against them before. I think I will be able to do it again,” said Baculio, referring to the family of Rep. Uy whose husband Julio, a former vice governor and now mayor of Villanueva town, is running for governor.

At presstime, Sumanpan said he was in Manila, securing a certificate of nomination from the PDP-Laban national headquarters for the group which he referred to as the “Third Force.”

Sumanpan said the group would also field Baculio’s sister Emelita Almirante for mayor in El Salvador City.

“Other municipal candidates would follow,” he said.

Calingin however said he and Baculio have yet to sit down and agree, and were still working independently from each other.

“But I was told that he (Baculio) already announced that he would support my candidacy, and I welcome that,” said Calingin.

Incidentally, Calingin’s and Baculio’s political careers were cut short when they clashed against the now Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno in Misamis Oriental’s gubernatorial race on separate occasions––the former lost in his reelection bid in 2004 while the latter challenged the then governor Moreno in 2007, and was defeated. Moreno would subsequently unseat the biggest local politician of them all––the then reelectionist mayor Vicente Emano––in the 2013 mayoral elections in Cagayan de Oro. (herbie gomez)