Kagay-anons deserve at least two Cabinet posts

Butch Bagabuyo

“Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have the right to expect.”–Rousseau

“Revolutions are not made; they come.”– Wendell Phillips

AS I’ve always stated in many a happenings, whenever it is made in heaven it happens whether one likes it or not.

I was hoping and praying that the good Lord would grant me a privilege of having a short time with one of my four topmost freedom fighters cum statesmen. God gave me a miracle, no doubt about it.

Lo and behold, all alone by himself but with prior understanding and approval by his loving wife and family, which I came to know only about three hours later, was the former no nonsense mayor of Cagayan de Oro, Reuben R. Canoy, spending his 87th birthday, reminiscing his colorful and proud past.

It was a gift from God that I would forever treasure in my most humble life.

Anyway, encouraged by the landslide victory of President-elect Rodrigo Roa Duterte, coupled with the fact that I have voluntarily appointed myself as the messenger of the teeming millions of the Mindanaoans since July of 2013, I dared brought the idea to the birthday celebrant the idea that the next tourism secretary should and ought to be offered and accepted by Butch Canoy, formerly with the RMN Radio Network and presently the president of the VIP Hotel in Cagayan de Oro. True to himself, all he said was to please make sure “Super Digong” and his cordon sanitaire “would not entertain the slightest notion that the suggestion came from me, not for anything else but because it is not my nature,” Reuben Canoy curtly concluded. Period.

Here is my take:

Almost all cabinet positions are taken except four, unless this column is mooted by recent appointments. Quite frankly, not one comes from Cagayan de Oro despite the glaring fact that when Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte refused to file his certificate of candidacy for President of the country, our city and yours truly continued to rally the people to convince our man to run for the presidency. Finally, when he threw in his hat into the arena, the political party he freely chose is none other than PDP-Laban, the one and only political party under the presidency of Sen. Koko Pimentel who dared to convince Super Digong with such uncommon trust and faith despite the fact that Duterte refused to file his certificate of candidacy for the presidency.

But Senator Koko stayed the course and chose to fight the giants in the Liberal Party and the UNA, with only this column and the few struggling die-hards of the original PDP-Laban, as though everything was going on smooth and well. Of course, it would be the height of lunatic arrogance to claim that PDP-Laban made Duterte President. The hard truth is that it was Super Digong Duterte who singularly made the PDP-Laban the largest political party in the country today.

But the flipside of the coin is, like it or not, without PDP-Laban, President-elect Duterte may not have even become a candidate at all. Candidly, it was Senator Koko’s unfailing faith in Super Digong coupled with the teeming millions of Mindanaoans who voluntarily convinced Duterte to run for the presidency. If for that alone, both PDP-Laban and the people of Cagayan de Oro City deserve at the very least two Cabinet posts. If the NDF has already been given two cabinet positions, it would be the height of insensitivity if not, ingratitude if, God forbid, Duterte does not appoint at least two Kagay-anons to the remaining four cabinet positions.

Now with a Mindanaoan President being the first and yet overwhelmingly elected of the 16 presidents, it is but fair, and so I dare submit that the tourism secretary comes from the city of Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, if only to sell the country best. No one knows how to sell the country better than a Mindanaoan from the City of Golden Friendship. In fact, only a Kagay-anon can successfully erase the unfair picture that Imperial Manila has arrogantly created against Mindanao and our people. Of course, many are capable to do the job. But I dare say that it is not enough that the appointee must come from Mindanao but he must come from the City of Cagayan de Oro, the homebirth of PDP-Laban and its founder, former Senate President Nene Pimentel.

Candidly, only a highly qualified and dignified persona from Cagayan de Oro fits best the position of the Secretary of Tourism and  as I’ve mentioned earlier, he is no other than Butch Canoy.

With Butch Canoy at the helm of the tourism post, he brings with him the wealth of his experience in public relations job having been in radio network business for quite a long, long time. Not only that, as a Mindanaoan, he has unequalled experience in the tourism business not only for Mindanao but for the entire country.

Although quite affluent, Butch Canoy is a product of the old reliable Jesuit education, meaning he is a man for others. I dare say Butch is easier to approach and converse with than with other government officials, especially the arrogant and nauseating Imperial Manila.

In my next column, I would like to mention the other Kagay-anon deserving a cabinet post better than any other applicant.

However, I cannot end this column without pointing out why it is best for the country in consonance with the promised complete and radical change in governance the idea that the Senate ought to elect as its president, Sen. Koko Pimentel and not any other senator at this crucial change.

The teeming millions of Filipinos have overwhelmingly chosen federalism against the present highly centralized governance which is prone to unmitigated graft and corrupt governance. However, in Senate today only Senator Koko is ready and kicking to go federalism, and quite sadly, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, the other reliable friend and ally of Duterte, is not yet ready to dive for federalism which is foremost in the minds of the 16 million voters who overwhelming voted for Duterte.

Honestly, unless Senator Koko is assured of the Senate presidency, I doubt if the overwhelming poor Filipinos would not insist on a revolutionary government. The talk on the streets nowadays is that if the late Cory Aquino was allowed to start with a revolutionary government, there is absolutely no reason why Duterte is not given a freehand and the same privilege granted to the late Cory Aquino in 1986.

Trust me, May 9, 2016 was the end of Imperial Manila and the ruling elite. Mindanaoans and the rest of the 90 million poor Filipinos will never agree to have federalism take a backseat with a Cayetano, Sotto and Drilon taking the helm at the Senate.

Enough of Imperial Manila.

Unless the Senate is headed by a true and tested hand in federalism which is no other than Senator Koko, chances are, the people’s expected federalism will become a DOA–Dead on Arrival– and provide the biggest roadblock to the campaign promise for a complete and radical change.

Unless the Senate is headed by Senator Koko, the teeming millions of the  poor and overly abused Filipinos will have no other choice but to ask if not, beg Duterte to start his administration with a revolutionary government. This is how important to our country and people the Senate presidency is at this time. (to be continued)