Ibañez may
still spark ‘revolt’

One cannot discount the possibility that Board member Melvin Ibañez may have ended up as the catalyst for what could soon be a full blown revolt by Negrenses against external political dictate on the course of Negrense politics.

As we previously noted, that may not have been the intention of Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. when he picked Ibañez as his running mate for the 2013 elections, but that inadvertently paved the way for the transformation of an immerging disgust at the culture of dictation into a full blown movement.

This is something which I have monitored recently: the silent but deep-seated resentment by Negrenses over external dictation on who should be the political leaders of the province.

That may have worked under Martial Rule, but that may have escaped the notice of most Negrenses. This time, it seems that they’ve had their lesson. And I think that one can transform local politics into a freedom movement.

***

While those with the NPC ticket under City Mayor Evleo Leonardia seem confident that they will walk away with the 2013 polls, they seem to have overlooked what could be their Achilles’ heel – the widespread disenchantment by the business sector with the new tax ordinance.

Although, Leonardia and Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson had repeatedly presented Bacolod glimpses of an alleged settlement of their contending positions with the business community, I had talked to MBCCI and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry leaders. Both groups contend that the city officials just keep promising to correct their mistakes, providing one solution after the other but refusing to buckle down on the issue of exorbitant rates.

Instead, as pointed out by the MBCCI, the past rounds of talks with city officials remained inconclusive.

For the business community, that means a lot of their money withheld from circulation or operational expenses and which they cannot afford because they are exorbitant.

And nothing can be worse that depriving the mercantile class of their right under the law. To earn enough with which to fund their operations and enable them to earn profit.

This is something that will hound the Leonardia, Sayson, and Gasataya ticket as well their allies.

It can spell a lot of difference on whether they can attain their objectives of winning the 2013 elections.

To a certain extent that makes the battle for vice mayorship of the city between MKK’s Vladimir Gonzales and former Councilor Renecito Novero’s the “Magnificent Seven.”

At first, I pointed out that Novero may have painted himself against the wall in the vice mayorship. But when former Councilor Greg Gasataya joined the race in the ticket of Sayson, not only did it raise a lot of questions about the process of his selection, but he also got tarred with the controversy over the questionable new tax ordinance of the city.

Vladimir Gonzales, on the other hand, had consistently opposed the new ordinance.

And he could go to town with the issue together with Newks Puentevella who had filed a case in court against the ordinance.

That leaves Novero and Vladi the main protagonists for the vice mayoralty.

***

A lot depends now on the RTC to rule of the issue of the award of the prime provincial Capitol properties in Bacolod to the AyalaLand, which the Commission on Audit finally approved last week after almost more than a year of waiting. So far, AyalaLand, seems bent on sticking with its decision to pull out from the deal.

But, as I had mentioned earlier, a group of business people and non-government organizations are also pushing to mount a final appeal to AyalaLand, Inc. top officials to ask them to reexamine their decision to develop their 200-hectare property in North Point in Talisay City into a combination of residential and commercial center.

Atty. May Ann Manayon-Lamis on Friday had forwarded a copy of the COA decision to the RTC which has been studying the suit filed by the SM Prime Holding, Inc. against the Ayala-Provincial government deal.

“I hope that the RTC will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and dismiss the SMPHIL case,” she said.*

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