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Thursday, April 22, 2004
Palace’s ‘shabby treatment’ of local Lakas receives flak
By JEANETTE P. MALINAO
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A BREWING rebellion among mayors “shabbily treated” by Malacañang may spell an end to Cebu’s unity for President Arroyo this May 10.
Among reasons cited by mayors interviewed yesterday were the “unfair treatment” from Arroyo’s people that led to sentiments ranging from “grumbling” to “disappointment” to “anger.”
A mayor who requested anonymity said they are now opening their doors to other presidentiables, who have since “made their presence felt.”
Gov. Pablo Garcia, Lakas provincial chairman, said he could not prevent his allies from expressing their sentiments, especially since they are also “fighting for survival in their own towns.”
Crack in solidarity
“That’s a problem that (Malacañang) should address. It’s a crack in the solidarity for the President. I’ll try to talk to them if mahilot ba,” said Garcia.
But a mayor from the second district said it is now uncertain if the governor or his daughter Gwendolyn “could still make a last effort” to prevent them from junking Arroyo.
Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay, Lakas spokesperson for the third district, also said that they’ve already made their sentiments known to the President’s representatives.
“I told them all mayors in the third district are for Arroyo, although in my case I might still change my mind,” Binghay told Sun.Star.
Aside from the incident in Malacañang where mayors supportive of Gwen felt they were “shabbily” treated when they were made to take off their shirts with Gwen’s name, the lack of funding and other support from Arroyo was also mentioned.
“We’re not blind supporters because that would be crazy. Lisud baya sige tag yawit unya way suporta, so I said ngano magsige man tag agwantag suporta aning wa nagsuporta nato,” said Binghay. “If they want, let them do something for us.”
The same is true in the second district, where a mayor and his barangay captains feel Arroyo’s “lack of recognition” of their efforts for her.
The mayor pointed out that when Arroyo came to Cebu last Saturday, those allied with Gwen were not even granted a meeting when they knew later that she met with allies of gubernatorial candidates Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr. and Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeña.
“We’ve been campaigning hard for her, kapuy kaayo mangapagaw pa ta, so maybe we should just find other groups nga basin maayo makigrelasyon namo,” he said.
No ‘drastic’ action
Argao Mayor Wilfredo Caminero, for his part, does not believe they would do such a “drastic” action as to junk Arroyo.
“This is a matter of showing sympathy to Gwen who has after all the highest number of local executives on her side. And we see that (the President’s men) show bias for the others. We’re a cohesive group and we could not be suppressed, but this can still be addressed,” said Caminero.
As for the governor, he said he already “confronted” Palace political liaison officer Gabriel Claudio about the “shabby” treatment they gave second district mayors who were told to take off their shirts bearing Gwen’s name.
Garcia said he asked Claudio why “his men” are being “discriminated,” and that he did “not like” the way they were treated.
The incident happened during the Holy Week when President Arroyo was supposed to proclaim second district officials. The proclamation did not push through because the mayors insisted on wearing the Gwen shirts, and Malacañang did not want it to appear that Arroyo was endorsing a gubernatorial candidate here.
(April 22, 2004 issue)
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