Ilonggo lawmakers expected to follow suit

By Alex P. Vidal

“Under every stone lurks a politician.”—Aristophanes

ILONGGO lawmakers felt alluded as members of the “rotten” House of Representatives are also expected to jump ship and abandon the

Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party headed by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).

Like their colleagues from other regions nationwide, this is the right opportunity to justify the exodus, which is actually a normal proceeding in Philippine politics each time a new administration takes over.

This developed as 11 lawmakers, mostly belonging to PDP-Laban, have also joined the PFP in addition to several local government officials who had earlier moved to the new ruling party.

The Ilonggo lawmakers are expected to make their moves soon so as not to be caught in a “traffic” so to speak, where they could no longer be the “center of attraction” if they dillydallied or decided too late.

Politicians love to be noticed and mentioned in the mass media while doing a dramatic thing such as the transfer of allegiance from one political party to another.

This is not an earthshaking event in the Philippines. If nobody will do this, it’s news. If there’s an exodus, it’s not news.

To quote the line popularized by late Senate president Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez, “Politics is addition”, which is a rule still followed by most politicians nowadays.

Those who have the numbers always win in every political competition and this has remained unchanged from the time of Rodriguez, except that the contest before was between the Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Liberal Party (LP).

The multiparty system today has made it even more crucial to get the greatest number of supporters to carry a party to victory. And all the lawmakers and LGU executives are aware of this fact.

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The congressmen who transferred to the PFP were Francisco Benitez (3rd District Negros Occidental), Richard Gomez (4th District Leyte), Ralph Wendel Tulfo (2nd District Quezon City), Maria Jamina Katherine Agarao (4th District Laguna), Glona Labadlabad (2nd District Zamboanga del Norte), Marlyn Primicias-Agabas (6th District Pangasinan), Florida Robes (San Jose del Monte City), Leody Tarriela (Occidental Mindoro), Rosanna Vergara (3rd District Nueva Ecija), and Linabelle Villarica (4th District Bulacan).

Also joining the PFP were Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., Quirino Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua, Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres, Cabanatuan City Mayor Myca Vergara, Meycauayan City Mayor Henry Villarica, Cabanatuan City Vice Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara, and Surallah Vice Mayor Antonio Bendita.

No congressman from Iloilo and Panay for that matter has transferred yet as of this writing.

A member of the Nacionalista Party, Agarao, who was from Lakas-CMD, and Tarriela and Cua who belonged to the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS), all the new PFP members were from the PDP-Laban, except for Tulfo.

South Cotabato 1st District Rep. Isidro Lumayag will also take his oath as a PFP member.

Abalos took his oath as a PFP member on Friday afternoon.

Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos joined his father’s party in August.

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STEAMY SUBMARINE CHAT LINE. Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory have figured out how to focus laser beams to produce a controlled burst of underwater sound. Using a mix of lasers that emit slightly varying frequencies of light, the process superheats a small area of water, producing a small explosion of steam and a 220-decibel sound pulse.

AIR FORCE’S NUCLEAR RESET.  Sometimes a single bad day can reshape an entire military service. The U.S. Air Force was humiliated in late 2007 when aircrews unwittingly loaded six live nuclear warheads onto a B-52 bomber, believing them to be unarmed cruise missiles.

LARGE BREASTS. Some of the largest breasts ever recorded figure in the book “Human Oddities” by Martin Monestier. The weight of each breast of the woman he mentions in the book is 44 pounds (19.8 kg) while their circumference is 33″ (83.82 cm).

ENHANCERS. Globally, the top three sexual enhancers are pornography, pleasure enhancing condoms, and lubricants. (Source: Human Sexuality Research Institute)

GERASCOPHOBIA is fear of growing old. But we will all go there whether we like it or not–unless we die young!

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)