By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Mayor Mauricio Domogan whose roots can be traced to Mountain Province lost his bid for congressman, and Leandro Yangot Jr. whose lineage can be traced to Sagada and Bontoc also lost his mayoralty bid, but the city council is still dominated by Igorots, 6 of them have or had parents from Mountain Province and the seventh is Cosalan from Benguet, an Ibaloi. The 8th councilor with an Igorot blood (from Mtn. Prov.) would be Sembrano. And the parents of vice mayor-elect, Faustino Olowan, originated from Sagada.
So for the Igorots or those who are from Mountain Province by blood, it is not really bad. Had one of the congressional bets (Domogan and Nick Aliping) gave way and helped the other, there could have been a fighting chance. But never mind, there will be another chance in three years which, one can say, is just around the corner. It will be here in no time.
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One of the secrets of the landslide victory of Gen. Magalong for mayor of Baguio was his camp’s having convinced Igorot leaders to go out and campaign for him. Either they saw something in him that can result in a better future for their kids or that there was an irresistible consideration they could not refuse for their capitulation.
Whatever. The reality is that if Mayor-elect Magalong will not take care of the Igorots who helped him achieve his victory, he will not last long in City Hall. And he knows this. That is if he has become a savvy politician in so short a time.
An irony is the loss of the son of former mayor and congressman Bernie Vergara in his bid for councilor. As I heard (but I cannot confirm this) the Vergara family supported Magalong and he won. The trade off was the said loss of a Vergara. It might have been a case of dissipated effort or resources.
Or was it a part of the national phenomenon where a lot of members of well-entrenched political families lost their political bids. Joseph Estrada in his bid for reelection as mayor of Manila lost. Two of his sons are almost sure to lose their Senates seats, and his grandchild lost the San Juan mayoralty race to a Zamora.
The Eusebios who politically controlled Pasig City the past 50 years were beaten by a kid, Vico Sotto, whose parents are showbiz personalities, Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes.
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay who controlled Makati City since 1986 lost in his congressional bid, although his daughter won as mayor against her brother. Nancy Binay will most likely retain her Senate seat. Also, one of the sons-in-law of the past vice president also won as congressman of one of Makati’s congressional districts.
Other old time political names who did not make it are Senator Bam Aquino and former Senator Mar Roxas. They will not be in the Senate this time.
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What is noticeable everywhere is the seeming recognition of education as a qualification for a political career. Vico Sotto is not just a good looking kid. He took up public administration at the Ateneo. Isko Moreno who was poor and became a showbiz personality who defeated Joseph Estrada also studied public administration at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. As far as I know, graduates of that school were topnotch.
Closer to home, many candidates for congressman of Mountain Province in the past up to now, and in other Cordillera provinces, were lawyers. Likewise, many doctors had been winning political seats in this region and in other parts of the country because of their profession.
So to inspire the younger generation, being a lawyer or a doctor, or otherwise being highly educated can mean a much bigger chance of winning political seats.
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