Nalzaro: Veteran versus neophyte
ASIDE from the mayoralty race in Cebu City, an interesting political development to watch is the city’s north congressional race between incumbent Rep. Raul del Mar against showbiz personality Richard “Sir Chief” Yap. This is a fight between a veteran legislator and a political neophyte. Del Mar has been the district representative to Congress since the post-Edsa 1 era. When his terms expired, his son Dr. Rannie del Mar and daughter Cutie, respectively, succeeded him. He might have been out of the political limelight for a while, but the del Mar brand of politics was still there.
It is inevitable that the qualifications and track records of the two candidates will be compared. If you are a voter of the district, you might find yourself in a dilemma on who to vote for. Are you going to cast your vote for a candidate whose integrity and performance have been proven and tested? Or vote for a candidate who has the desire and sincerity to serve the public, yet who still needs to prove his worth through project implementation and his performance in the Halls of Congress through crafting, sponsoring and arguing his proposed legislative measures?
Kon ikaw botante, kinsa may imong pilion? Kanang nakita na ang agi ug performance o kadtong saad pa lang. Ug kon gusto og kausaban ang mga botante, unsang kausaban nga angayan usbon nga angayan man hulipan ang representante?
Del Mar, a lawyer, has shown good performance in his stint as congessman, both inside and outside of the Halls of Congress. When I said outside, he has initiated and implemented hard and soft projects, especially infrastructure projects like flyovers, skywalks, road widening, gymnasiums, sports complex, school buildings and expansion of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. He has the most successful medical program at Vicente Sotto, serving the hospital and medical needs of his constituents.
He has plans to put up skyways and tunnels to decongest traffic in the city. In Congress, he introduced and sponsored legislative measures of national and local concerns. He authored the bills to create of Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority and the Cebu Port Authority, among others. Del Mar is also a staunch supporter of media advocacies. That is why some media personalities call him “kampeyon sa media.” Has has been a member of various vital committees, including the the powerful Commission on Appointments. He was once appointed Deputy House Speaker for the Visayas during former president Gloria Arroyo’s time. He was the only Cebuano to be named one of the 2018 The Outstanding Filipino (Tofil).
On the other hand, through a common friend, I asked Yap about his plans and vision. Yap emailed me about the things he intends to do if elected like bringing water to mountain barangays, building more lying-in centers or primary care facilities around the city. He also wants to come up with legislations allowing but regulating alternative therapies for cancer treatment and making the motorcycle rider training mandatory. He also wants to provide livelihood projects to women and senior citizens, rehabilitate public markets and their facilities and cement major roads and roads leading to mountain barangays. Yap said “there is so much more to do, but he wants to work on the more immediate concerns first.”
Yap is a full-blooded Cebuano of Chinese descent. He was born and grew up here. He went to college in Manila where he finished with a Bachelor of Science in Bussiness Management degree at the De La Salle University. He joined show business a couple of years ago and starred in various lead roles in ABS-CBN primetime drama series. He was known as “Sir Chief” in the TV series “Please be careful with my heart.”
Yap may be popular, as he is a showbiz personality, but is his popularity convertible to votes? It will be an uphill political battle for him fighting against a “political giant.” But as they say, “the ball is round.” Del Mar is no stranger to showbiz personalities as political rivals. In the 2016 elections, Cebuana showbiz talent manager Anabelle Rama ran against him with Rama’s entire showbiz family and her “showbiz alagas” campaigning for her. But Rama lost to Del Mar by a big margin.
Although leading by a big margin in their party’s in-house surveys, Del Mar is not taking this election lightly. He regularly joined his Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan colleagues during their nightly campaign sorties. He even visited mountain barangays and their remotest sitios. Aw, di gyud angayan mo-kompeyansa kay kining mga botante dali ra mausab ang huna-huna.