LAST week, we would get back to the friend of a friend who would write about the plot point of our current mayor’s decision to run. This week, this piece by Monin Navarro, which she titles “The Reluctant Candidate.”
“The man I met in October 2018 was not at all what I imagined a retired general would be. There was none of that imperious air about him that usually comes naturally to someone who has commanded battalions of soldiers in combat. Instead, what I saw was a soft-spoken, even self-effacing person that won’t brag about his accomplishments in the military nor in civilian life as, for example, an executive of the largest steel mill in the country.
“As we sat down for coffee, I asked him why he thought he would make a good mayor for a city that seems to be beset with a hundred and one problems -- from traffic to waste management to illegal settlers to overdevelopment to environmental degradation. Half jestingly, I asked if he was ready to venture into a battle that could be worse than what he experienced in Abra – causing two bullet holes to be indelibly marked on his helmet, which hangs on his home office wall – a grim reminder of his narrow escape from death. I expected the usual standard answer – ‘I want to serve the people and the city.’
“What he actually said, however, was a precursor to what he is doing now as mayor. He said he saw that the city was quickly decaying and that if he wouldn’t give it a shot, Baguio would further decay and the damage would then be difficult to reverse. Not really a politician’s answer, but then Benjie Magalong is not (and I doubt he’ll ever be) a politician.
“Did he run for mayor on a whim? Far from it. He consulted several people first, including his father, who warned him that politics is a totally different ballgame. Was he willing to compromise his integrity, time with family, be subjected to unfounded criticisms, and fake news on social media?
“One thing I found out about Mayor Magalong is that he is a good listener. He listens to people he trusts, weighs the pros and cons, and then makes his own decision. Thus, after waiting until the last hour to file his certificate of candidacy, retired General Benjamin B. Magalong threw his hat into the mayoral ring.
“Urban legend or not, it is believed that to gauge the popularity of a candidate in Baguio, one should to talk to taxi drivers. If one asks them if they know a candidate and they say yes, then that candidate has a good chance of being THE popular candidate. So at the start of the campaign, I asked the driver of a taxi I was in what he thought of candidate Magalong. He replied, ‘Who?’
“But of course all that is water under the political bridge. Weary of career politicians, the people of Baguio were ready for a change in leadership after decades of recycled and repurposed traditional politicians. A newcomer to the Baguio political scene, the non-politician Benjie Magalong, soldier of truth with unquestionable integrity, breezed through the election like a breath of fresh air and with results that gave him a sizable margin, to boot.
“And he hit the ground running.”
Come to think of it, the mayor’s win was a plotpoint for the city, too.
Next week, more from and of Monin Navarro and this group called RAB.