Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Malig: Dong's outline for Bacolor and Mark's solid ground By Jun A. Malig Cognition
IF PAMPANGA third district Board Member and leading congressional bet Aurelio "Cong Dong" Gonzales Jr. becomes a member of the House of Representatives, he vows to work hard for the passage of a special law to fast-track the recovery of Bacolor town.
"Much has already been done by way of infrastructure, governance, relocation, livelihood assistance and other support but it is still a long way off from the vibrant and productive Bacolor of the past," he said, adding that he is certain that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would be supportive of his plan.
This column is very much aware of the millions and millions of pesos worth of infrastructure projects brought by Cong Dong to Bacolor from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf) of former senator Loren Legarda and Senator Juan Flavier. Bacolor Mayor Romeo Dungca can attest to this fact.
But for the leading congressional candidate, there is still much to be done for Bacolor. He said the extent of lahar devastation in the town "is so huge that the current level of finances it is getting from the local and national taxes is not enough to accelerate its full recovery."
He said the third district's congressional Pdaf and the Internal Revenue Allotment are not enough to speed up the town's full rehabilitation. He said a special law supported by the leaders and people of Bacolor will be needed for this endeavor.
By the way, Bacolor was the provincial capital of Pampanga for 150 years (1754 to 1904). Regarded by historians as the "Athens of Pampanga," it is the hometown of several famous Kapampangan men of letters, poets, statesmen, men of justice, and philanthropists. The town is worth rehabilitating and I am sure the people of Bacolor would welcome and cheer Cong Dong's efforts.
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I was surprised to see this paper's story about Gov. Mark Lapid's reaction to the "speculations" that he is withdrawing his candidacy. Well, Mark has every reason to laugh off such rumors, as he doesn't have any reason to withdraw from the gubernatorial race.
"If there is anybody who is withdrawing, it is definitely not me," was the plain yet authoritative declaration of the young governor.
Even Mark's sharp-minded campaign manager, Fidel Arcenas, was surprised by the rumors about the reelectionist governor's alleged plan to withdraw from the gubernatorial race. He said surveys consistently show that Mark is still way ahead in the political contest.
Arcenas said Lakas-CMD's random surveys manifests that Fr. Ed Panlilio's candidacy has been affecting Lilia Pineda's ratings -- not Mark's. He said their "tracking elections" show that it is Lilia's percentage "that is being eaten up by Panlilio." He cited as concrete example the recent shift of allegiance of Kampi candidates and supporters in Minalin town from the camp of Lilia Pineda to the camp of the Catholic priest-turned-politician.
Arcenas said the governor has been telling his supporters not to let themselves be distracted by "intrigues and wild speculations." He said the three-cornered contest is beneficial for Mark because he is the incumbent governor who is still popular among the masses and has well intact political leaders since 2004. He added that the partial results of their province-wide survey last week showed that Mark's percentage points are higher than the combined percentage points of his two main political opponents.
Well, it might be true that one of the three primary gubernatorial candidates would eventually withdraw from the race. But common sense and sound evaluation of the current political situation in the province indicate that it would not be Mark Lapid. As I stated, he has no reason to withdraw from the gubernatorial race.
