The last stretch

Fr. Leo Pabayo

MAY 9 is fast approaching. The race of the mayoral bets in Cagayan de Oro has been nose to nose. At this point, no one clearly knows who will first make it first to the finish line. It has been said that in CDO it is usually the incumbent who wins. One reason is that the incumbent has most of the government machinery at his disposal and he can easily insert his political agenda to the workings of the city government. However, he is up against the two heavyweights in the contest. So the race is by no means a done deal.

Emano has been thought of as being already a “has been.” But surprisingly, he seems to have gotten out of bed energized and ready for the fight of his life. His years in office had for a long time been questionable with projects that did not seem right. But not long ago, he came up with projects that undoubtedly were good for the city such as the three big markets, namely: the Cogon market, the one at Carmen and the Agora. Add to that the two overpasses he built.   One can say can that the accomplishments of his last incumbency were nothing to sneeze at. These and his other accomplishments left an indelible mark in the history of the city. But given his advance age the gnawing question is still, can he still hack it. Is it not better to hand over the fate of the city a new and younger administration? The wisdom of the electorate is being sought in this coming election.

We have coming into the scene a new challenger to the present incumbent. There have been a lot of questions about his coming into the scene. Many of his fellow Cagayanons were expecting that after his stint as congressman of the second district he would be aspiring for higher positions in the national government, like running for the Senate or becoming a cabinet member in the new national government. But we were surprised that he decided challenge his former political ally. Many Cagayananons did not look kindly at this. They perceive it as a betrayal. Moreno was preoccupied with his own projects on improving the city that he did not see Rufus’ plan to unseat him. But as Moreno himself said, in politics there is no permanent alliances. There is only the political interests.

Rufus, has no doubt done amazing work in concreting the streets of Cagayan de Oro. There seemed to have been no stopping him from this kind of improvement. The road improvements he made stretches from one end of his district to another. The Cagayananons could only wait for new ideas from him on what come improvement could he further could introduce.

I dare say however that the renewal that Moreno has brought into the city, both in infrastructures and the city’s political culture and set-up, surpasses both those of Emano and Rufus. First, the improvements he made in the city hospital and the outreach that this hospital is engage in have done the poor of Cagayan de Oro a great good. It is something that the Cagay-anon needs most. The lost opportunity of Emano to make the improvements in the JR Borja Hospital is a big blow to his reputation as being concerned with the plight of the poor. On the other hand, Rufus’ stint in Congress where he had great access big money from the national government for use in the hospital was also a great loss of opportunity.

The greatest achievements of Moreno are the schools that he had built.  In any government endeavors, the most important is that of education. I have written several articles on this. I am a believer in the Depeds motto of “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan edukasyon ang kailangan.” Building streets, bridges and highways are important but there is nothing more important than building good highways and byways of the mind. Educate the people and you are more than halfway to solving their problems. Bridging the gaps in the way that people think or the way that their brain functions is more important compared to building bridges that enables them to cross rivers. If they have the right way of thinking they would be able to build bridges. It is understandable why in any government as far as I know, it is education that gets the highest priority. This is evident even in the making of the budget. It is therefore a great wonder to me why of all the projects that were undertaken by Rufus as congressman he neglected this. But all is not lost. He can make up if he wins.

Moreno’s giving importance to education has shown itself not only in the building of schools but also in his concern for the culture of the city.  He has given importance to the national shrines that reminds the people of Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro of the sacrifices of our heroes. The refurbishment of the Magsaysay monuments and the building of the monument for the heroic media people in the ground of the Capitol as well as the building of monument of heroes in front of the Capitol building speaks well of Moreno’s concern for the spirit of patriotism that that sustains our nation. But again, these are something that the other two candidates can do should they win. May the best man win.