What if he were gracious…
By PET MELLIZA/ The Beekeeper
We can only speculate but I am not alone in this view that the
political landscape in Iloilo City might be kinder to Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog
had he taken initiatives, not merely react to his challenger, Rommel
Ynion.
Ynion, so far, is succeeding in pulling Mabilog by the nose just
as Broadcaster John Paul Tia concludes that the latter is merely entrapping himself.
The recent fracas of the “libre sakay” (free ride) initiated by
Ynion is one flashpoint. The project involves 30 public jeepneys in all routes
of the city commissioned daily to transport senior citizens, students and the
disabled for free.
Ynion contracted jeepney associations in the city loop which in
turn agreed to rotate among members the charter. That means, one group today is
hired while another group takes over tomorrow, which thus, makes “ebribadi
hapi” as the saying goes.
Mabilog sees that a threat that at the very dawn the project kicks
off, January 8, six drivers fall to the hands of city hall’s traffic enforcers
for a violation that is more hilarious than legal. Joe Tengco, head of the
Traffic Management and Transport Regulatory Office (TMTRO) declares them guilty
for “unfair labor practice”.
Had Mabilog graciously allowed libre-sakay to proceed, he could
have avoided the trap he is in now that he invited public ire.
“Unfair labor practice”, which could be a criminal offense committed
by either an employer or a trade unionist, does not apply to jeepney drivers
giving free rides.
Mabilog tried to cure the embarrassment by fielding Jeffrey Celiz
who strip-danced on air explaining that Mabilog was only trying to avert
bloodshed.
Celiz stretched his imagination too far by concluding that the
free rides offered by Ynion might prod drivers to violence against colleagues
who cornered the contract.
Columnist Manuel “Boy” Mejorada rebutted him on air that same
night but Celiz, known for his knack to spew jargons and slogans instead of
logical arguments, merely lashed back at him with his standard brew.
So far, no driver came out to denounce libre sakay. It’s only Mabilog’s camp shedding tears for drivers
deprived of the contract.
Two persons from militant groups rebuked Mabilog, namely Edgar
Salarda, spokesperson of Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators
Nationwide (PISTON) - Panay chapter, and Reylan Vergara of Bayan Panay –
Karapatan.
Salarda and Vergara paid dearly for their stand though. Celiz
tagged them “bayaran” (paid hacks) of Ynion. Be that as it may, Salarda
reminded him that the free ride did not hurt the drivers who even benefitted
because they too, had family members who were students, senior citizens and
disabled.
Salarda lashed back at Mabilog’s camp for its “indifference” to
the plight of drivers. “For years,” he recalled, “we have screamed against the
Oil Deregulation Law and the arbitrary increases in fuel prices as root cause
of our woes but the Mabilog administration ignored us and remained indifferent
to our plight.”
The libre sakay, insists Vergara, is advantageous to drivers and
the poor who comprise the majority of Ilonggos. He laments that Mabilog “acts
like a dictator” and “prevents poor Ilonggos from enjoying that privilege for
his narrow political interest.”
This space no longer wants to add to Mabilog’s black-eye, which he
could have avoided by being gracious. He could have so spared himself by
consigning his incendiary mouthpiece to the backburner to do some soul
searching instead of colliding with his former colleagues in the cause-oriented
movement.
Mabilog could have earned public goodwill by simply allowing the libre sakay but blew that chance
not only by resorting to ludicrous legal tricks but also by fielding his
“special ops” on nightly sorties to tear down the posters of Ynion and company.
That piece above applies too, to Rep. Ferj Biron (4th
district) who is gunning for governor of Iloilo. He was a rising star but blew
that by letting his group block the declaration of Iloilo Province under a
state of calamity.
Bagyo Quintang, December 26-27, killed 11 Ilonggos and sent 22
towns and Passi City under water. 0ver 100,000 persons evacuated.
The disaster was real but Biron gambled away his political stock
by letting his faction at the provincial board oppose the declaration of a
state of calamity.
Biron, in effect, sought to prevent relief to victims and is now
paying dearly for that. Had he set politics aside and rushed relief good to
victims of Quinta, he could have earned points.
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