“This early, Maliksi’s opposition, the present Governor Juanito Victor C. Remulla, Jr. has hired a public relations practitioner to mount a campaign against Maliksi, specifically on the work that the congressman has done for the LTR 1 extension.”
by Ducky Paredes
Politics in the Philippines is never simple and straight-forward. In the elections of 2013, there are many underlying themes. For instance, the President’s trip to a Daang Matuwid could crash to a full stop if the electorate chooses more of the same type of politicos that have been dragging us down for decades.
The run-up to the elections for the governorship of Cavite province is a case in point. The President’s candidate will surely be Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi, former governor and present congressman of the Third district of Cavite.
One of the president’s more important and game-changing Public-Private Partnership Projects (PPP) is the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 that today ends in Baclaran. Paranaque. the lline will extend to Cavite and eventually serve all of Calabarzon (CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, RiZal, and QuezON).
This early, Maliksi’s opposition, the present Governor Juanito Victor C. Remulla, Jr. has hired a public relations practitioner to mount a campaign against Maliksi, specifically on the work that the congressman has done for the LTR 1 extension.
In 2008, Congressman Maliksi signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the LRTA to look for a relocation site for 2,000 families who will be uprooted from their homes when the new line is laid. The fund allocated was P500 million. Ayong has done his job, buying up 14 parcels of land, building roads to the relocation site, installing water mains and even building 180 homes. The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) which is presently bidding out the construction of the rail tracks, still needs to provide another P500 million for 1,800 more houses. This will be released only after a successful bidding for the actual construction of the railroad.
The sad part is that, since Maliksi is so closely associated with the one thing that will modernize transportation within Cavite and will bring progress to the province, the present governor does not necessarily see the entry of this one piece of progress as good. Rather, he seems to regard it as something that belongs to Maliksi. Thus, the campaign to denigrate the 3rd District congressman and the rail extension itself.
The accusations of over-pricing and even that of not providing homes for 90 % of the dislocated Cavitenos fly in the face of reasonable explanations. For instance, while only 180 homes have been built. There are enough funds and time to build the rest of the houses needed for 2,000 families who will, after all, not be moving in until they are scheduled to do so, when the rail lines are already being laid and construction of the infrastructure for the LRT 1 extension has begun in earnest.
In truth, there is no issue on the work undertaken by the former governor for the LRTA 1 extension, which was also vetted by the Commission on Audit (COA).
Ayong Maliksi, like many small-town folk, came from simple folk. His father was a farmer and his mother a vegetable vendor. After graduating from the University of the East with a B.S. in Political Science, he applied for work as a clerk in the office of Governor Johnny Remulla. Soon he was Secretary to the Governor.
Remulla appointed him Chief of Police of his hometown, Imus. He must have done well, because he was elected Vice Mayor. Thus began his political career that brought him back to the Provincial Capitol as Governor himself and to the Halls of Congress.
As governor, Ayong promulgated the “Pananaw ng Kabite.” It reads: “Makasaysayang Kabite/Lupa ng Bayaning Mamamayan/Buong Loob sa Pagbabago/Matagumpay sa Pandaigdigang Larangan.
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Among the announcements made by the President during his London visit , the most hailed was his revelation that he would be appointing Senators Kiko Pangilinan and Ping Lacson to his Cabinet after their terms as senators end in May 2013.
Mar Roxas, Secretary of the Departmnt of Transportation and Communicatins (DOTC) and Senate President Manong Johnny Enrile immediately praised the appointments.
So did many of us who are seeing a far-from-competent Philippine National Police and remember how Lacson, when appointed by President Estrada to PNP Director put the fear of God in both the criminal elements and the police. Hopefully, when he is appointed to the post of Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG). It will still be the old Lacson of ten years ago who will again put discipline back in the PNP.
Then, maybe the vision of our President of a Daang Matuwid can become a reality!
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hvp 06.26.12
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