Sara solidifies pa’s political hold in Oro

By CONG B. CORRALES, Associate Editor, NITZ ARANCON
and LITO RULONA, Correspondents .

WARRING politicians in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental tried to outdo each other even as they went gaga over President Duterte’s daughter Sara who came over to grace the city’s Charter Day celebration and two separate mass oathtaking rites for newly elected barangay officials.

Only one really emerged as the big winner: the President who, wittingly or unwittingly, ensured that all the politicians who call the shots here were in his pocket.

A political monopoly is exactly what Duterte has established in Cagayan de Oro, leaving not even political breadcrumbs to the opposition, according to a retired politician.

“Nabaling ni Digong ang duha ka grupo sa pulitika sa Cagayan de Oro ug Misamis Oriental,” said former congressman Erasmo Damasing Jr..

Damasing said Mayor Oscar Moreno and his followers left the Liberal Party and joined the PDP-Laban while the Emanos and another influential political family, the Rodriguezes, were seeking to forge political alliances with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).

The result: “Wala na gyu’y opposition sa Cagayan de Oro kontra ni Digong,” said Damasing.

Activists sounded alarm bells over the cocktail of warring political groups here, saying that politicians here have surrendered their independence to the Duterte administration.

They feared that, in a way, this intermixture of political parties, bickering yet all subservient to the Duterte administration, would result in the “repression of the voice of opposition.”

Wildon Barros, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in northern Mindanao, said activists like him have seen this move by the Duterte administration from a mile away.

Barros said recent pronouncements of political alliances have given no quarters for political opposition, producing a chilling effect on citizens seeking political independence and accountability.

He said the political alliances the Duterte administration has been forging in the local levels is “dangerous” because “opposition and dissent are the cornerstones of democracy.”

“Kung wala na’y oposisyon, yes, na lang lugar tanan?”

“Ang mabilin na lang ini nga tinuod nga opposition nga political parties mao ang Bayan Muna ug Anakpawis,” said Barros, pointing out that the two are now registered as political parties and not merely as party-list groups.

But Barros admitted that the Bayan Muna and Anakpawis could hardly roll out an effective political campaign as well as traditional political parties, citing a lack of funds.

“Nakita na nato kini. Maningkamot gyud ni si Digong nga pabor sa ilang ang tanan local governments arun makalusot ang ilang mga agenda,” he said.

Mayor Duterte-Carpio announced here that her still unregistered regional party, HNP, is open to forging political alliances with other local political organizations like ex-mayor Vicente Emano’s Padayon Pilipino and the group of Mayor Moreno.

One hand hand, Moreno’s group is with the PDP-Laban which, although an administration party, has been given the cold shoulder by Duterte-Carpio’s group. The Davao mayor has also publicly lashed out at Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, PDP-Laban’s secretary general.

The Emanos’ Padayon Pilipino, on the other hand, has forged an alliance with former vice president Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The Padayon Pilipino and even the Centrist Democratic Party (CDP) of former congressman Rufus Rodriguez are now gravitating towards Duterte-Carpio’s HNP.  On Friday, the Emanos and the Rodriguezes united as they welcomed and met with Duterte-Carpio during the mass oathtaking of over 2,140 barangay officials from Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro at the Atrium of Limketkai mall.

The Limketkai mall event, organized by Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, gathered prominent politicians like ex-mayor Emano, Rodriguez and his congressman-brother Maximo Jr., former mayor Constantino Jaraula, Gingoog Mayor Marie Guingona and Padayon Pilipino president Nadya Elipe, and ex-congressman Jose Benjamin Benaldo.

But before the Limketkai gathering, Duterte-Carpio was with the group of Moreno and 1st District Rep. Rolando Uy in time for the oathtaking of another group of barangay officials.

HNP, said Duterte-Carpio, was formed with original the intention of uniting local political groups in Region 11 alone, but her group is now open to expanding alliances outside the Davao region.

“Naglisod pa kami og organize kay regional party pa man kami. We will consult with Commission on Elections,” said Duterte-Carpio.

Responding to questions about a likely HNP-Padayon Pilipino alliance, Duterte-Carpio said: “Wala pa’y formal namo nga pag-istorya ni Gov. Bambi Emano.”

She told a news conference that she only learned about the Emano group’s intention to forge an alliance with HNP in the newspapers.

“Those who want to be allied with us coming from other provinces, like in northern Mindanao, alliance lang, but we cannot certify that they would be working and really affiliated with us,” Duterte-Carpio said.

Before barangay officials, Duterte-Carpio said her visit to the city was on the invitation of two political groups, and that it had nothing to do with her supposed plan to seek a seat in the Senate. She however said she would make a decision by August or September and go public with it before the October filing of certificates of candidacy. (with reports from shiela mae butlig)