OLINGAN, DIPOLOG CITY - I am back in my hometown. This is my first visit here after the death of my beloved mother, Nanay Doring, almost two years ago. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be here since I have yet to recover from the death of my mother.
Seeing this place makes me reminisce about the fun memories I shared with her when she was still alive.
But I am here because I attended our 30th high school reunion of the then Dipolog School of Fisheries now Alberto Q. Ubay Memorial Agro-Technology and Science High School last Saturday. I was obliged to attend the event because I was class president. I had no choice.
The reunion was a success. It was well attended. Most of my classmates did not finish college. They got married after graduation. When I asked them why they didn’t proceed to college, the common answer was poverty. Well, what can you expect from a life in the province? I did not even recognize some of them because they look older than I do.
Most of us came from poor families. We were lucky we had a public school in our barrio. Our parents sent us to this institution because they could not afford to send us to private schools in the city proper.
The school now has a tertiary level. It offers four-year courses and vocational courses.
The affair ended at 3 a.m. yesterday. We all had a great time.
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Since it’s election period, I decided to look into the political condition of the entire province of Zamboanga del Norte, which was declared one of the poorest provinces in the country based on the 2004 National Economic Development Authority poverty incidence survey.
It’s in the same category as Atty. Frank Malilong’s home province, Masbate.
But based on the latest survey, Zamboanga del Norte is no longer in that category. At least, the province is developing.
Unlike in other areas in Mindanao where the political situation is very volatile, the political scenario in the province, which includes the cities of Dapitan and Dipolog, is generally peaceful. The province, which is dominated by Christians, is not known to be a hotbed of political violence. However, some politicians reportedly still employ the traditional “3 Gs” (guns, gold and goons).
The Jalosjos clan is the emerging political dynasty in the province. Former congressman Romeo “Nonong” Jalosjos, who was just released from prison after serving his sentence for statutory rape, is the acknowledged political kingpin in the province. The family is expanding its political sphere of influence in the nearby Zamboanga-Sibugay Province and in Misamis Occidental.
Nonong, whose civil and political rights have not been restored because he was not given absolute pardon by the President, now controls the province’s political landscape. He fielded his son, Bullet Jalosjos, as congressional bet in the first district, which includes Dapitan City, replacing his sister, Rep. Cecilia Jalosjos Carreon.
His look-a-like brother, Domingo Jr., is still seeking reelection in Dapitan. His brother Cesar, who was once romantically linked to actress Maricel Soriano, is a reelectionist congressman in the third district. Gov. Rolando Yebes, a political ally of the Jalosjos, is seeking his third term.
Nonong’s son Romeo Jr. is seeking an elective post in the neighboring Zamboanga-Sibugay Province against the Hofers.
Another Jalosjos is running in the towns of Baliangao and Sapangdalaga in Misamis Occidental. In Dipolog City, reelectionists Mayor Evelyn “Belen” Uy is being challenged by businessman Franklin “Akao” Lim, owner of Jollibee and the Dipolog Mall.
(bobby@sunstar.com.ph/bgnalzaro@gmanetwork.com)