YES FOLKS, just when you thought it was going to be your usual day in March, a bit sunny and windy, there’s something more brewing and it looks like it’s already here.
The circus is in town complete with dancing girls, one-eyed midgets, clowns, singing/dancing pigs and elephants plus your usual paid barkers.
Oh well, this circus happens every three years and we call them the midterm national and local elections. As they say, “same shit different day.”
So March started as a dull day; nothing really interesting happening, just your usual political circus…ad nauseam perfectly describes it.
It does seem like your usual exercise in futility, a boring waste of people’s money, nothing much really, nothing interesting, just your usual politicians and their “paid barkers” stroking themselves to mutual gratification.
The virtues and everything good about their “sponsors” these “paid barkers” claim make one wonder if these politicians are so good and they’re God’s gift to the Ilonggos, then perhaps God himself or herself (depending on your preference) will just come down from heaven and stop the coming elections and just appoint them Himself/Herself with the usual thunder and lightning, angelic music and voices singing halleluiahs as He/She anoints His/Her gifts to the Ilonggos.
After all, kings and queens claim they got their power to rule directly from God; you know, that “divine right” nonsense, so why not with politicians.
It may come as a surprise to you but that’s really what these politicians are hoping, perhaps even praying (of course, they go to church and pray; it’s too good a photo-op to miss) that will happen.
The funny thing there is that in “I Am Iloilo City” there are three or more of them fervently praying that this will happen (including the usual nuisance candidates) so if God suddenly bumped his/her “funny bone” and decided to have a little fun and grant them all their fervent wish/prayer…then “I Am Iloilo City” ends up, rather is blessed, with three or more mayors. And the fun begins!
Hilarious as it may seem it might work and it saves a lot of money and spares the natives of “I Am Iloilo City” from all those stupid political propaganda and speeches which are a pack of lies anyway.
The millions they prepared as “war chest” they can just distribute to the people so they at least can be true to their promises that they’re there to serve the people. Yeah right, and pigs will fly.
So how does this power sharing work with “I Am Iloilo City” blessed with three or more mayors?
For starters, each of the three mayors get to be mayor one day a week so on Monday Jerry Treñas is the mayor of the day, then on Wednesday it’s Joe Espinosa III’s turn as mayor, then on Friday we have Pacita Gonzalez.
What about the Tuesday and Thursday schedule? Who gets to be mayor? Again this is no problem on Tuesday; we have Mel Carreon (I’m assuming the guy is running for mayor this coming election) and on Thursday we have Rommel Ynion although he is not running this election (I believe he deserves even just an honorary title as mayor of “I Am Iloilo City” even just once a week).
After all, Rommel Ynion once dared to run against the firmly-established and well-funded relative of Sen. Franklin Drilon, the now dismissed former mayor of “I Am Iloilo City” Jed Mabilog; of course he lost.
We will not talk about Mabilog as he is already living a happy life as an exile in Canada with his beloved wife, the charming Marivic, and their two lovely children.
We will leave it to President Rodrigo Duterte to take pot-shots at Jed Mabilog.
The weekends which is Saturday and Sunday, being officially and traditionally non-working days and city hall is closed anyway, all five can just be like most normal government employees and go to the malls or go to Madge’s coffee shop at the La Paz Public Market, have a caffeine fix and listen to the Muzikeros.
Meanwhile in the real world, “I Am Iloilo City” is vandalized with all sorts of political propaganda; from tarpaulins to billboards to posters. And to think the official campaign period for members of the House of Representatives and regional, provincial, city, and municipal officials has yet to start on March 30, 2019 till May 11.
The Commission on Elections or Comelec, as usual, every time we have elections confirms the fact that it is a useless agency a waste of people’s money.
At the end of the day it never ceases to amaze me that these politicians are actually spending millions of pesos to be elected as mayor, congressman or governor when the salary combining all three terms or nine years in office might not even be half of what they spent to be elected in the first place./PN
