There is a reason

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.”—William Tecumseh Sherman

WHEN politicians suddenly engage in feeding and gift-giving activities without any reason, there is a reason.

When they start to smile like Mickey Mouse at anyone they meet in the coffeeshops, barbershops, beauty parlors, public markets, malls, and other public places, there is more than meets the eye.

When they begin to shake our hands even if we did not win in any singing contest and visit our houses while we are watching our favorite soap opera on prime time, that means they need us to remember them during the election.

The next election will be on May 9, 2022, or 15 months away, but some political wannabes angling for higher or new positions have ignored the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and are now visible in many barangays and public places.

With or without a pandemic, politicians care for themselves first, their political existence and gains, and how to transform them into votes during election day.

They want to be recognized and remembered for purposes of name-recall.

 

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For the meantime, they, most particularly, want to be known as “givers” or “someone who cares for the downtrodden”, an archaic political strategy that is still very much relevant and being accepted by gullible voters until today.

Politicians are the biggest whales in the ocean. They are also opportunists by nature.

If they want something from us, our approval and votes, they will throw their weight around and go ashore near public visibility.

If they don’t need anything, they don’t give a hoot and sometimes we see them only in the next election when they start to again tantalize and mesmerize us.

With the proposed redistricting of Iloilo City as a highly urbanized metropolis nearing its final approval after hurdling the third and final reading in the House of Representatives on February 2, there is a good chance that the House Bill 8477, introduced Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda, will become a law.

Under the bill, Iloilo City will be divided into two congressional districts: one will be composed of Jaro, Lapaz, and Mandurriao districts while the other legislative district will have the City Proper, Molo, Arevalo, and Lapuz districts.

 

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If the bill will make it in the Senate and signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte soon, Iloilo City residents will need to elect two sets of Sangguniang Panlungsod councilors and, the most valuable and No. 1 target of some eager-beaver local aspirants, two representatives in the Lower House.

If luck would have it, the Ilonggos will elect two representatives in 2022 and, thus, help spiral the development of Iloilo City in terms of social and infrastructure projects as enumerated by Senator Franklin Drilon.

Iloilo City will also have a “louder voice” in Congress, according to the lady legislator.

Mayor Jerry Treñas has been “fully” supportive of the proposed redistricting even during his term as congressman,

Citing that Cebu, Marikina, and Makati, among others, were also divided into two congregations districts, the mayor had said: “As a congressman for nine years, I have seen how a congressperson can help out in the development of our city.”

Thus it’s understandable why many potential congressional aspirants have started painting the town red, so to speak, amid the pandemic, sending razor-sharp signals that they may be interested to join the fray in 2022.

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)