No response

Ben Contreras .

CALL him a clone of his father, but even a clone can be different and better than the original. This is how I look at Misamis Oriental Gov. Bambi Emano.

I once asked the young Bambi if he would enter politics and follow the footsteps of his father. He said, “Dili ko kay maski midaug ka na, pildihon man gihapon sa ihap.” (I won’t because even if you won, you will lose in the counting). But soon afterwards, Bambi became the youngest mayor of Tagoloan. The rest is history.

In comparison, I believe he did and is doing better than his father. It’s surprising if his name is being floated to face the incumbent mayor of Cagayan de Oro. Of late, however, he was heard to have declined and would rather focus on his province.

Something I came across may be the reason why — the ambitious “Villanueva-Opol Expressway” project. If this is in the governor’s future agenda, I can understand why he is declining the proposition to run against Moreno. Call it a dream, but even for a dream like this expressway project, we need to appreciate the governor.

The province, like the city, is heading toward unprecedented development. Laguindingan is another municipality to watch that would complement with the rest of the municipalities of the province.

Let us hope that Gov. Emano would seriously pursue this huge project.

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Is there such a thing as “The art of living dangerously”? When you survived living dangerously, then how you survived it was the art one can be proud of. But for the people of Tibasak, they would rather see the dike finished as soon as possible that wait for them to learn the art of living dangerously.

So, on Saturday, the people of Tibasak gathered at the covered court to discuss what have been done by this small group of concerned citizens to hasten the completion of the dike that, if not completed soon, might pose a great danger to the residents nearby. Four months from now is a month known for rainy days and floodings.

“Vinta” was a scary reminder of “Sendong.” The water during “Sendong” was experienced again during “Vinta,” damaging properties.

Just a brief history in the year 2018! On Jan. 9, 2018, the residents of Macasandig wrote a letter to the city mayor to ask his office to “facilitate the implementation of measures, the construction of the dike and similar infrastructures that will mitigate the life-threatening floods that now visit us regularly.” The letter was received by the mayor and vice mayor on Jan. 25, 2018, and by Sen. Aquilino Martin Pimentel on Jan. 30, 2018. Even after six months, nothing was ever heard from the three.

The same letter was also sent to President Rodrigo R. Duterte. In a sequence of events, Atty. Vanessa Goc-ong of the Office of the Special Assistance to the President, was tasked to look into it. She sent a letter, dated May 7, 2018, to Rafael C. Yabut, senior undersecretary for Mindanao Regional Operations and in return, he sent a letter, dated May 30, 2018, to Zenaida T. Tan, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Region 10. Until Aug. 13, 2018, there has been no response.

On March 8, 2018, the barangay of Macasandig passed a resolution seeking assistance from the city council, the city mayor, Jica, DPWH, the Regional Development Council for the immediate completion of the dike. Until Aug. 13, 2018, there has been no response from any of them.