Uy: Soriano, of the same feather as Emano

CAGAYAN de Oro opposition mayoralty candidate Rolando “Klarex” Uy has continued twitting former opposition figure Antonio Soriano for changing allegiances, this time dishing out an oft-quoted idiom that says something about people of similar taste.

“Kinsa pa man diay ang maglinabana kun dili ang mga kapareha nga mga nagharing hut-ong sa atong dakbayan? (Who would defend each other but people who are likeminded, and whose group is lording over the city?)” said Uy, the congressman of the first district, in an emailed statement to media outlets Sunday.

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Soriano, a former vice mayor and who used to be the opposition figurehead before Uy’s entry into the local politics in 2007, announced late last week his decision to abandon the opposition to join Cagayan de Oro Vice Mayor Vicente Emano’s camp.

The announcement surprised political observers and local pundits because Soriano has cast himself as an oppositionist in Emano’s nine years as mayor.

As one of the leading opposition figures, Soriano ran and lost against Emano in the 1998 (not 2004, as earlier reported) mayoral race. He remained critical when the term-limited Emano became vice mayor almost three years ago.

Disappointed and apparently surprised, Uy said Soriano turned out to be “of the same feather as Emano’s.”

“They are all but the same. They want a firm grip of Cagayan de Oro, and they have to bond together because they have a common goal: to enslave and control Kagay-anons,” said Uy, who started his political career as Barangay Carmen’s chairman.

In supporting a candidate he used to criticize and even branded as “corrupt,” Soriano said he had no choice but to “pick the lesser evil,” adding he was never involved in Uy’s campaign in the first place.

“I’m for Emano this time because I believe that between him and Klarex (Uy), Dongkoy (Emano) is more preferable in terms of infrastructure development and peace and order,” said Soriano.

He said he was ready for the criticisms expected of his decision to embrace a former political enemy, including suspicions that his loyalty was bought for some pieces of silver.

“I arrived at this decision by purely deciding alone; no one told me to support Dongkoy or anybody. Nor was I bought off as my principles cannot be bought,” he said.

He enumerated his reasons for supporting Emano: The alleged mismanagement of the Uys of Barangay Carmen, where Soriano a resident; Uy’s largely untested performance in public office; Emano’s “good” performance in the infrastructure area when he was mayor from 1998 to 2007.

Uy’s wife, Lorna, the barangay chairperson of Carmen, has done nothing with the garbage problem in the area, while peace and order remains a serious concern, said Soriano. This was the same case when Uy was himself a barangay chairman before becoming a congressman in 2007, he added.

In contrast, Soriano said that while Emano is hounded by corruption issues, “we have already tested him, and we’ve seen what he can do for the progress of the city.” (ALR)