By Anthony A. Araos
LAGAWE, IFUGAO—Following the historic “win” of Lagawe mayoralty candidate Denis Habawel to weed out 131 flying voters through a recent court ruling, he opened his spirited campaign by engaging voters in consultation meetings at Burnay, Tungngod and Caba villages of the capital town.
“It’s meaningful and engaging to interact with the people,” Habawel said in an exclusive interview. “Through sustained interactive discussion of key concerns with villagers and participation of their barangay council officials, our campaign continues to find its efforts to reach out to underserved communities, in pursuit of our inclusive growth advocacy thus, generating an informed choice among voters,” he added.
Habawel, a lawyer and former governor of Ifugao is running under the Nacionalista Party.
Staying true to his advocacy for good governance in the grassroots level, Habawel has stepped up reiterating his commitment to prioritize the marginalized sector as Lagawe braces for numerous challenges in 2025 and beyond.
The articulate public servant who is well known for being a consummate and hands-on local chief executive official has included forward-looking initiatives, programs and projects in his plans and agenda in the next three years if elected. “Rest assured that resources would be utilized judiciously for the welfare of the people and these would be given utmost care at all times”
Noticeably, the come-backing, Ayangan-speaking Habawel started his campaign sortie at Barangay Burnay (with over 700 registered voters), known as his bailiwick and considered a heartland of the long-acknowledged politically-imbued and molded Habawel clan.
A clan will certainly play a vital role in providing the numbers in this electoral exercise as the forthcoming midterm polls, paving the way to catch too much interest in the electorate on results one way or another and how seasoned power-wielders take it seriously.
Habawel, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines and one of the most distinguished governors of the Cordillera Administrative Region is known for his mild-mannered but firm traits and who genuinely represented Ifugao in various occasions in the past with utmost grace, honor and dignity.
On the positive side, Habawel’s overall development blueprint is an impetus for Lagawe’s long sought turnaround in poverty-stricken barangays. Lagawe is one of the poorest towns in Ifugao.
That good news is a central theme of the message of his campaign.
Each second of this grueling campaign period, Habawel remains relentless in finding best-fit solutions for the development of the projects that will certainly accelerate sustainable economic growth and engine the continued well-being of Lagawe folks- young and old alike.
Lagawe has 20 villages and over 13,000 registered voters. It is a predominantly farming town. Recognizing the importance of community engagement, Habawel even shares his knowledge on land cultivation, in particular, and agriculture, in general, empowering to embrace agriculture as a pathway to progress. Simply told, Habawel is one-of-a-kind corporate professional and executive-turned dedicated farmer in this part of upland Cordilleras. Undoubtedly, he remains at the forefront of real change and continue to contribute to and be the motivation for developing infrastructure, increasing social welfare, pushing for pro-people reforms and providing quality services. “In throwing our full and unqualified support for him-with six voters in our family, we are citing the remarkable training and experience of Denis Habawel in law, public service and other important aspects of life,” a barangay government official of Burnay declared.
At Burnay, Atty. Habawel gave a crystal-clear presentation of his objectives, plans and strategies to make the people’s lives healthier, happier and comfortable. First, one clapped, and then a hundred. That’s how it did work! **
