“Comelected” in Bogo?

Did you ever think what would happen if the Philippine economy grew from its present 6.5 percent to say 12 percent, which is quite achievable? If ever this happens, we can predict that more people would be buying more cars and the present bad traffic situation in Metro Cebu would grow from critical to worse! Our major thoroughfares would suddenly become one huge parking lot! Therefore, we need to widen our roads now before it’s too late! 

During the first term of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, he pushed for the funding of the Metro Cebu Development Projects (MCDP), which was an offshoot of then Gov. Eddie Gullas’s Metro Cebu Land Use and Traffic System (MCLUTS), which recommended the widening of major streets in Metro Cebu, like V. Rama Ave., B. Rodriquez and A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue. These widened roads undoubtedly helped speed up the development of Cebu!

Alas, the MCDP was stopped because we have exhausted the foreign funds. If there is anything Metro Cebu needs today, it is another MCDP program to widen Hernan Cortes (this is a parallel road to Gov. Cuenco Ave.) all the way to M.L. Quezon, including Canduman St. Surely this would ease the traffic woes in the Banilad area and in Mandaue? As to where we’re going to get the funds for this, I would like to ask, “Didn’t we pay our share of the Road Users’ Tax? If so, we are entitled to get that money back!

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Finally we got the news from Manila that the Comelec Commissioner Leonil Marco Castillano proclaimed Ben-Hur Salimbangon Monday night at the Comelec Headquarters in Intramuros. Last week, Ben-Hur’s lead over Celestino “Tining” Martinez III was only 308 votes. As of the time he was proclaimed this lead narrowed to a mere 104 votes, but it satisfied the Comelec to have him proclaimed. Finally, we can say congratulations to Rep. Ben-Hur Salimbangon for his exhausting win in the 4th District. But there is no doubt that the Martinezes will never rest and would surely file all the appeals in the Comelec or with the courts.

Turning on the tv yesterday morning on channel 56 with CCTN’s “Hello Cebu, Maayong Buntag Pinoy” with Ricky Poca and Divine Marcial they had Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junnie” Martinez Jr. on the phone saying that his lawyers would exhaust all the legal remedies they can find. As for Ben-Hur’s proclamation, Junnie quipped, “He was Comelected!” Junnie then said that he would expose how corrupt are the Comelec officials here.  

I can only agree with his observations; after all, this is not the first time I heard someone say that his opponent was “Comelected”. However it must be said that it is only now that the Martinezes find the Comelec corrupt in this election because they experienced the loss of former Rep. Clavel Asas Martinez and former Mayor Tining. But what about his own victory as Bogo City Mayor? Was Junnie also “Comelected?” I do hope that Junnie would expose the corruption in the Comelec so that we’ll certainly know for sure how those same allegedly corrupt Comelec officials cheated during the 2004 elections! This gets interesting every minute!

Meanwhile we would like to know from the Comelec why four election returns were missing. Surely the Comelec had the right number of ERs and counted them properly? Why was this discovered only now? Perhaps the more important question is, who is the culprit here? As we learned about cheating in these elections from one Namfrel official, you cannot cheat in this manner without the help of a man inside the Comelec. So pray tell us who in the Comelec cheated for whom so they could be “Comelected?”

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The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) together with the City of Cebu has embarked on a student exchange program, hosting the Pinoy-Dutch Xplore program, a three-week immersion program with 33 youths from the Netherlands who would visit various sites in Cebu City and learn from us how Filipinos can still smile despite our poverty. Of course, we hope and expect our youth to learn from the Dutch why cleanliness is virtually a religion in the Netherlands?

These are great programs to foster closer ties and friendship between two countries. I asked one of the student leaders if they have a Kool Camp Adventure type of program in the Netherlands and apparently he wasn’t aware of any in his own country. With the support of RAFI they can already guarantee to the Dutch youth that their experience in Cebu will certainly be the most unforgettable time in their lives. Someday, it will be Cebu’s turn to send our youth to the Netherlands.

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