That island never ends

I think of Dumaguete as a haven from the sturm und drang of Manila with its pollution and overpopulation. I think of Dumaguete as a quiet, gentle city by the sea. But the thoughts dissipate when roving boombox-equipped trucks remind me that it’s again election time.

Somewhere in my grade school mind, the idea of elections centered on who was popular. As we age, elections become exercises in painting – what medium on what size canvas – where the painter chooses what he trusts will bring to life a work of art, or of governance.

“Trust” here is not a lonely word; it is the only word. If you can trust the candidate, vote. If not, hesitate. Popularity plays second fiddle.

If there is one dividing line in the dark sand at Silliman Beach, it is the 174-hectare island reclamation project.

Those who originally supported it seemed to do it almost in secret, and now, they say that the matter is for approval by the national officials, subject to change, and not just a ‘local concern.’

Those who oppose it have been consistent, and insistent.

The key then to the main event, este, issue, is the election of councilors. They are the City’s legislators. They decide, for the people of Dumaguete, if the island reclamation project is a good thing.

That is how democracy works. It is not an apparatchik thing, where a bureaucrat in Manila gets to decide for us in Dumaguete what our shoreline should be.

This naturally leads us to consider the candidates for the City Council. What follows is a list of those who will vote a firm No on the reclamation project.

One candidate is Marife Ligon-Cordova, widow of the former Vice-Mayor of the City. The late Alan Cordova was an official who lived the idea that “a public office is a public trust.” Alan was “a man of principle, who preferred to avoid the limelight,” and for whom “public interest was always first,” according to an incumbent councilor, Michael Bandal. Marife runs to honor what Alan meant to the City. In this, she is a recent example of a ‘profile in courage.’ Cordova is Number 6 on the ballot.

Another candidate is Atty. Rosel Erames, the ‘vocalist’ of the Kasaligan candidates, who collectively oppose the reclamation project. She comes across as the one who is most vocal about the matter.“Silence is not an option, when we have too much to lose,” she said. By the way, Erames is almost a child prodigy, being the youngest ever City Councilor of Dumaguete three years ago. Number 9 on the ballot.

Third on the list is Dandan Teves. He is no stranger to the City Council, having been elected to it in 2010-2016. Since 2016, he has owned a business that provides trucking services. As a Councilor, Dandan wrote ordinances that regulated the noise of motorcycles, the fare schemes for public tricycles, the driver education for high school students, and stray dogs. He had a chance to emigrate to the US in the early 1990s but chose to go back home. Number 15 on the ballot.

Atty. Jose ‘Petit’ Baldado strikes me as a ‘man for all seasons.’ The idea goes all the way back, of course, to St. Thomas More in the 1500s (the pesky guy who wouldn’t give Henry VIII satisfaction). Baldado, who passed the Bar exams with a score of 80.03 percent, is a legend in local politics, where he has had long-term success (a period of some 45 years since he became a mayor in Manjuyod in 1977), despite the lack of what pundits call “resources.” Baldado has explained that the secret sauce to all this is the intelligence of the voters. Number 4 on the ballot.

Atty. Joe Kenneth ‘Joken’ Arbas is an incumbent councilor seeking re-election. He was a close friend of Alan Cordova. A former seminarian, he studied abroad (in Israel), has a master’s degree from Ateneo de Manila, and has taught at the local public university (NORSU) and at St. Paul University. He likes Barry Manilow and The Hollies. Number 2 on the ballot.

Dr. Jose Victor “JV” Imbo, formerly a (three-term) City ouncilor, has a long record of achievement not only as a professional (he is a dentist) but also as a public official. His wife, Ma. Geraldine Polestico-Imbo, is his campaign manager. In today’s pandemic crisis, he brings along his perspective as a health care professional. He authored a Resolution setting up a Meditation Room in the City Hall premises. Number 11 on the ballot.

Incumbent councilor Agustin Miguel “Tincho” Perdices is one of the most vocal opponents of the reclamation project. For that alone, he should be in your list. If you are still not convinced, you should know that as a child, his hero was Batman. And if you know your super-heroes, Batman fought against corruption in Gotham City (the fictional version of New York). Many in Dumaguete know him as the son of the former Mayor Agustin Perdices. Number 18 on the ballot.

Antonio Johnson “TonyRems” Remollo is a former councilor seeking a comeback. As a proud and grateful Dumagueteño, he sees the reclamation project as a “nightmare” that may be “destroying our moral fiber.” He reminds me of Hercule Poirot (as created by Agatha Christie), and not just because he wears a ‘stache. Number 19 on the ballot.

Atty. Coly Vismanos seeks a government that would be more responsive to the needs of the poor, and he mentions specifically that medicine should be affordable to the masses. He takes pride in being an abogado para sa mga kabos (a lawyer for those with little means). He obtained his law degree as a scholarship student at Foundation University. Number 22 on the ballot.

Bernice Anne Elmaco, an incumbent councilor, has raised ‘due process’ and environmental issues relating to the City Council’s deliberations on the reclamation project. She chairs the Women and Children Committee at the City Council, and she is an active medical volunteer. Number 8 on the ballot.

Yet another candidate who deserves consideration is one running for the position of vice-mayor, a position that can break a tie in case of a deadlock in local legislation. William Ablong was previously the City vice-mayor (in 2001-2007). Ablong has consulted on environmental issues with the international agencies (the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the U.N. Environment Program), and with the US Agency for International Development. When he opposes the reclamation project, he knows what it is all about. He has a doctorate in public administration, is a captain in the Philippine Army, and holds a 5th degree black belt in karate. I call him the ‘Karate Kid’ of the Kasaligan group.

So there you have it: The Magnificent Ten Plus One. They ask the tough questions, and they will vote their conscience.

There are other candidates who are attractive, and whose names already ring a bell. Should they be ignored? Vote for them if they pass a ‘conscience’ litmus test – Will they deliver a firm No on the reclamation project? That is the Hamlet question.

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Author’s email: oroncesval4@gmail.com; Twitter: @ORoncesvalles