By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
This is being written on the assumption that there will be elections. Otherwise, if the Congress will ram federalism (I am for federalism) down our throats, then there might be no election in the interim. Then there will be some changes in the political equation in the local arena. The incumbents will remain as officers-in-charge until the next election will be held, which can be soon, or it might take the longest time.
In Mountain Province, just like in other areas, some are already preparing to hit the campaign trail. For the position of congressman, one of the first to declare his intention was Atty. Anthony Wooden but he was also the first to sound off the possibility of a no-el (no election). Atty. Wooden is the incumbent mayor of Tadian and education- and experience-wise he must be the most qualified to run for congressman of Mountain Province.
As to projects in his home town while he was mayor, an independent source told me the results were good. This means he did not corrupt the projects for his constituents. The same source told me that another politician in that province who has good project outputs is Mayor Abraham Akilit of nearby Bauko.
Of course, the other wanna-be-congressmen (including a woman) of the same province would disagree with me. I am not really sure if she is really running but the way I look at it or the way press releases had been coming in, Atty. Cyphrine Dalog might have her eye on the Congress. She can argue that she is as academically qualified as Atty. Wooden and that she had a long on-the-job training with her late father, the late Congressman Maximo Dalog.
Another person who might also disagree is Jupiter Dominguez of Sabangan. I think he had long been preparing to run again for congressman. His name, however, might be a boon or bane. For sure, there are remnant supporters of his late uncle, the late Congressman Victor Dominguez who used to be a political kingpin, who might go for him because of the name.
Jupiter’s brother, however, is Juniper Dominguez. Is this a boon or bane? Let us just let the Mountain Province electorate decide if there will be an election.
But there is a thorn by the throats of these politicians whose candidacy can upset the political situation. This is Mateo L. Chiyawan who is the present mayor of Natonin. If he will cast his hat into any upcoming political contest for congressman, then he might be the only candidate from the eastern part of the province.
While the richest town in terms of votes is Bauko, the votes there might be split among the three westerners. One of the ear of Atty. Wooden is from Bauko, so is Atty. Cyphrine Dalog’s. And there are Dominguezes also in that town. During elections, if you have the same surname it means you are relatives. So a candidate will say.
On the governorship, the names being uttered the loudest are those of Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. and Eduardo T. Latawan Jr., the former mayor of Sagada. From the grapevine, both are financially prepared for the battle. In Mountain Province, this means a lot.
There is yet no word if the camp of the late Gov. Leonard Mayaen will be fielding a candidate. From the looks of it, his children are not interested to follow the political footsteps of their father. How about their spouses?
Well, that would be another matter. We will see.
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