Marañon: I will not stoop to gutter language

GOVERNOR Alfredo Marañon, Jr. said Thursday that he will not stoop down to gutter language and gutter politics.

He issued the statement amid the proliferation of photos at the Capitol showing him plowing the field using a sheep while his opponent Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez uses a carabao.

The photos were apparently related to the Capitol’s alleged overpriced purchase of sheep from Australia. Marañon’s detractors insist that the money spent on the sheep purchase could have been spent more judiciously for the purchase of carabaos which the province’s farmers can immediately use.

"Yes, I used to be a bakero when I was a small boy but, you know, a bakero means shepherd who were the first to be informed of the birth of Christ, according to the Bible," Marañon said.

He stressed that those photos are black propaganda which prompted him to reiterate his stand to maintain a high level of campaign.

He said that the result of the elections will be the final arbiter so he would no longer argue on issues of who will win in the coming elections and in what district he or Vice-Governor Genaro Alvarez, who is challenging the governor for the top elective post in Negros Occidental, is going to win.

Marañon issued the statement in answer to Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña’s earlier statements about the governor’s age.

"Governance is not a physical but a mental contest. You consider the age of Abraham. Age connotes wisdom based on experience. Age matters only in a physical contest. In government service, a public servant uses brain power based on experiences you acquired from the number of years in government service. Governance is based on performance with a leader who has untainted records, no Ombudsman case, no warrant of arrest or suspension. That is old governance. That is transparency", Marañon stressed.

The governor cited some world leaders of his age like Nelson Mandela and former US President Ronald Reagan.

Meanwhile, Marañon agreed with the statement of Philip Arles, 6th District congressional candidate lied with the governor, that Alvarez's "I Love Negros Agenda" is copied from his “Negros First Agenda”.

On the other hand, Alvarez pointed out that his "I Love Negros” agenda was already his platform of government some 22 years ago when he was then board member of the province.

He said that part of this agenda when he was still a congressman was his “from womb to tomb” program which provides hospital assistance for delivering mothers, scholarships, assistance for OFWs, hospitalization and even free caskets for indigents.

Alvarez stressed that the allegation of a “copied” platform of government is unfair and without basis. (TDE)