No to extension of barangay and SK elections!

I got a lot of comments about the article we wrote on the survey done by the Campaigns & Images Group, that it was a very thorough survey taken from 5,100 respondents that truly represented the 51 million voting population of the Philippines. That survey showed that Sen. Manny Villar has already moved away from Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III garnering 32 percentage points against Noynoy’s 23 percentage points. Just a month ago, the two were in a statistical tie, which is why Noynoy Aquino changed tactics and took over his own campaign.

What was further intriguing is that the Campaigns & Images Group survey that we revealed a couple of weeks ago, already showed that Lakas-Kampi Presidential bet Sec. Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. veering away from former Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada. This recent survey conducted last Feb.21 showed that Erap has moved further down to 5.5% from Gibo, while Gibo has moved further up to 18%, just 5 percentage points away from Noynoy Aquino’s 23%.

Again, I was asked why wasn’t this survey published. I threw that question to Campaigns & Images Group Managing Director Aniceto “Abbey” Canturias whom I interviewed for our talkshow “Straight from the Sky” yesterday. He pointed out that his company was commissioned by US and UK based companies having businesses in the Philippines because obviously they do not believe the SWS or Pulse Asia surveys which is not as thorough as the surveys done by Campaigns & Images.

Hence, these surveys are not meant to promote any political aggrupation or candidate. Rather it is for the appreciation of the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of the US and UK based companies so they can prepare their respective businesses on what might be the political climate if and when one of the top three becomes the next President of this country.

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Didn’t we say that the Province of Cebu was already free from communist rebels? Actually I wrote that a couple of years ago just after Gov. Gwen F. Garcia declared an all-out war against the Communists. That was unofficial, even if there were no longer any rebel initiated incidents except for the members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were caught in Talisay City a couple of years ago for extortion activities.

But then it had to be declared official so during the turnover ceremonies for the Internal Security Operations (ISO) of the Province of Cebu to the Cebu Provincial Peace and Order Council, Gov. Gwen Garcia declared Cebu to be “rebel-free.” No one can dispute this truth! One of the most infested areas in Cebu was the town of Tuburan, but some five years ago, my good friend, Fr. Lucas Inoc was transferred there to be their parish priest and personally knowing him as a staunch anti-communist, it was only a matter of time when Tuburan became rebel-free.

I was in Tuburan just last month in the vacation house of my classmate Mr. Enrique Fararrons, where Fr. Inoc also said Holy Mass for us. Later we went to see the town’s museum. For such a remote town north of Cebu, Tuburan has so much history. Gen. Arcadio Maxilom came from Tuburan and he practically ruled over Cebu during the time when the Spaniards were routed and the Americans took over our Spanish colonizers.

With Tuburan already experiencing relative peace, a lot of city folks are thinking of investing in properties there. Tuburan is no longer considered far-flung as it is a mere two hour car ride from Cebu City via the Transcentral Highway. No doubt, peace has a lot of dividends. It is even more visible in the island of Bohol which is also rebel-free and tourists are flocking there. Thanks to Gov. Garcia for making Cebu rebel-free!

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I heard over the radio that my good friend, Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza of Agusan del Sur filed a resolution that would reset the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from October 2010 to October 2011. I’m totally against it. Elected officials, whether it is the President of the Philippines, Senators, Mayors or Governors have legal terms and no act of Congress should extend their terms as it would be unconstitutional, regardless of the reasons or excuses anyone can provide.

Of course, no sitting barangay official would say no to another whole year term that they do not deserve! Drought or not, the Barangay and SK elections are as important as the Presidential or local elections and we should never, ever entertain the thought of extending their terms of office as their terms can only be extended as a God given right of the Filipino voter!