Dangerously hot elections

Mariano Carrasco

THIS early in Cagayan de Oro, six months away from May 2016, the election fever, brickbats, personal and verbal attacks and heated emotions are boiling and simmering. There is clear and present danger, and unless some third parties, civic groups, or the religious would intervene in the name of peace, things can explode and result in physical confrontations.

This world has enough troubles already. National politics is bad and elite-oriented enough with three presidential contenders tearing society apart. There is more than enough terrorism on our shores and abroad, and now here we are, in our little Cagayan de Oro, a generally peaceful and serene place, though still mired in poverty, facing the dark shadows of electoral violence.

The yellow, violet, orange, green and pink groups or their supporters could all drown themselves in a red and boiling cauldron of politics.

Although my wife Atty. Evangeline T. Carrasco and myself have expressed an objective view about the mayoral conflict between Oscar Moreno and Ian Acenas and have expressed a legal opinion in favor of the former, we must make it clear that we have yet to make up our minds on who to support. We need to consult our clients, political followers and family members and need to assess the sincerity and platform  of the candidates, if any. (My wife is running for Congress [2nd district] as an independent because she abhors the sometimes indiscriminate, unprincipled, and undefined ways of party politics.)

When I was younger, I ran for the congressional election of 1987 under the Partido ng Bayan. I had a minority vote of just 19,000 despite the red-baiting, black propaganda and absence of funds. I was fifth in the ranking, with the late Atty. Bella Tiro as 4th, Atty. Erasmo Damasing as 3rd, and Liling Roa and the late Atty. Roderico Villaroya contesting the first place with about 32,000 votes each, more or less, with Roa finally winning by a final contested difference of a hundred or so votes. There were 18 candidates then, including Rufus Rodriguez, who ran under the banner of the KBL of Marcos.

My lawyer wife has had so many clients in her own practice, mostly organizations and community-based. My coservative estimate is that we could have a swaying or decisive vote of about 10 to 20 thousand only, and mind you, we have no intention of selling that voting strength. Whatever little influence or political strength we have we shall conscientiously exert for the people’s welfare.

Rufus or Intoy is a friend and we played ping-pong with Atty. Bebo Waga, and we were dormmates with him and his amiable wife at Ipil Dorm which is near the UP College of Law. His help and influence got me accepted into the dorm, I must admit. But I protested against the anomalous practice of frat leaders monopolizing their rooms and having fake roommates on the record. Because of that I was accosted and slapped by the grandarchon of Sigma Rho, Armand Tarrosa, then accompanied by his gang of brods and I could not do anything. Nevertheless, if Rufus would take down his posters advertising the government projects as if he spent for them, I would probably consider voting for him. But his style, including the massive giving out of money and goods, is simply very traditional, if not offensive to the principle of clean politics.

We campaigned hard for Oscar Moreno in the last election. At barangay Indahag where the barangay chairman and all the kagawads except one campaigned for Emano, Moreno was ahead in the votes. We thought Moreno was anti-dictatorship and democratic. When he used his iron fist to stamp out the Night Cafe without consultation, the establishment of which was based on a city council ordinance, and started to put no parking signs even on wide one-way streets at Divisoria and nearby so people would go to Ayala’s Centrio (he being an Ayala counsel and top executive), and ordered the indiscriminate clamping of tires without due process, and continued the illegal 20-percent share of traffic aides from the traffic violation fines, and disregarded the road rights of way of residents, and had to be rallied against until he issued the Stoppage Order on the excavation of the road at San Miguel Village in Lapasan–we thought he forgot his promises. But then, Vangie and I expressed support for him in the Ombudsman issue because he deserves objectively the legal support. We are awaiting for his go-signal to the City Legal Office to file the expropriation case for the San Miguel Village road, which the city council had approved and which he signed, reluctantly at that.

Of course, Emano’s record speaks for itself. His iron-fisted control of the City Council and Tinnex Jaraula, and the death of thousands whom he resettled in harm’s way at the river banks pursuant to his much-publicized “piso-piso” program, and the dumping of the dead and election paraphernalia at the city dumpsite, speak volumes about the man. There was one thing I admired about him though. Whenever we staged protest actions against him or against the government, he would come out to talk to us with his charismatic smile and voice. He even joined us human rights lawyers and militants in marching on the streets towards the last days of the Marcos dictatorship, though he was long connected with the KBL, too. Up to now, Emano’s enigma and magnetic political charm remains powerful, and dangerous.

We shall be witnessing a dramatic and riveting triangular political fight. We should all observe them, and listen.