Maasin Sii

This is in response to: http://thereporteronline.com.ph/2010/01/30/gov-mercado-bares-high-end-development-in-agas-agas-bridge

Hehehe. I’m just amused at how much time most people spend here just to make sure they could say what they want against the present administration. I bet one of the reasons why they are not answering the queries you guys have is because they don’t feel the need to explain their side to people who are have already formed their judgments long before they could even open their mouths. We have our own biases for and against the people in government as well as those running for government positions and that’s normal.

I know Odong is a good performer but I believe an Oging Mercado can still beat 10 Odong Saludos when it comes to delivering results. He does not need to rally Arab-looking people for ground-breaking photo ops to get people to think that the project has already begun. Yeah, the funds me have been appropriated during Saludo’s time but Oging was able to secure it and have it implemented and yeah, he deserve to put his face on the billboards heralding the completion of his projects for his political will.

As much as I admire Te’ Dundeet, I would still be batting for Mian cause only people who don’t have anything to be proud out would put so much weight on a candidate’s scholastic records. Mian will definitely win again this election not just because he got a lot of Mayors behind him but because a lot of people have seen a lot of change during his administration. Changes that this province both felt and saw for their own eyes. Not just flowery words.

I admire Rosette but I’m certainly not voting for someone who rallied her minions against the cityhood of Maasin to be it’s mayor. Maloney is a unifying leader who got what it takes to run this city. His predecessor is just was too popular and has more resources than him. Sir Malon may not have as much resource as Rosette may have but I’m sure the barangay captains would not let him lose to someone who coerced the former barangay captain of Lunas to get his support back.

It's the election season once again and we're all in for an amazing ride filled with hypocrisy, blackmail, and the usual antics that turns politicians and their families into circus freaks in an attempt to gain popularity, notoriety and whatever it is that would catapult them to victory. In this part of the country, where local politicians are regarded as celebrities and even royalties, this season means a chance to play Perez Hilton or the guys on TMZ.

In an article posted on the Southern Leyte Times website, Victor Lerias, the father of gubernatorial candidate Dundeet Lerias and husband of mayoral candidate, Rosette Yniguez-Lerias, told the editor in an email that:

"People tell us that we do not have the resources to cope with rich and formidable political adversaries. Is our lack of monetary resource enough to quell our desire to offer better services to our people? Shall we wait until our beloved province becomes another Maguindanao? Shall we wait when these present leaders will have made the destruction of our province irreversible? Shall we wait until the powers of poverty shall have bound our peoples' hands and feet?" "We will not be out of resources if we make use of those means which God has placed in our power. The multitude of Southern Leytenos, armed with the cause of righteousness are invincible by any resources that our adversaries will use against us. Besides, we are not alone in this struggle. There is a just God who looks after the future of this beloved province and who will raise up our fellow southern Leytenos to help carry the burden of this struggle and catapult us to victory."

The first paragraph makes me wanna shake the hands the person who told the Lerias camp to play the Ampatuan card so I can tell it to his face that it's a crappy idea. The Mercado's are not warlords and they don't have hired guns to do their bidding. They may have security escorts with guns on their hands but everyone knows the Lerias camp have these sorts of people too. If Victor's intention was to remind the people that Oging Mercado is capable of committing violence like what he did to Odong

Saludo's chopper during the 1998 elections, this could ultimately backfire on them for a number of reasons:

1. Rosette coalesced with Oging back in 2004 without any protest as to his tendencies towards violence and even helped the people understand how "To err is human and to forgive is divine";

2. Odong Saludo, taking a shot at representing Southern Leyte again after his failed bid in 2004, seems to have dropped the case against Oging already. If they will paint the attempted murderer color on Oging again, then that would certainly make him an enabler;

3. People have already forgiven Oging and even re-elected him twice. They're more interested on who Mian is sleeping with now and not on that old helicopter joke which involves a wig;

The second paragraph is kinda funny and is aimed at the readers' sympathy. Funny, not because claiming that god is on one's side sounds desperate but because in every endeavor, all politicians would say god is on their side however evil or vile they really are behind those smiles and candy-coated words. I'm sure Oging knows how to spin the god card in his favor again just like the past elections, he will surely spin it well.

I am yet to hear a rebuttal from the Mercado side but I hope it does not have to do with god or any deity for that matter. God is losing his credibility thanks to priests and politicians who uses his/her name to get what they want. They're all free to use satan though and I bet that's gonna be something revolutionary.