Bacolod’s loss, Talisay’s gain

True, Bacolod lost what the Ayala Land Inc. envisioned for the Negros Occidental provincial government’s prime 7.7-hectare lot in Bacolod, but it actually ended up as a gain for neighboring Talisay City.

In a way, it also provides Bacolod business establishments the opportunity to choose where to transfer, in the event that they go through with their plan to desert the city because of its “exorbitant” new tax revenue code.

That also presages the development of Talisay City, to no longer just be a residential area for Bacolod residents but a commercial center that may soon rival Bacolod.

Of course, that does not restore to the provincial government what it had lost in terms of revenues for the province, which Ayala Land could have paid for the prime property. But that still ends up as a gain for the province with the billions of pesos the firm intends to invest in its North Point development.

Let’s be honest about it. We have been impressed by the North Point development. One can immediately see that it is an area that boasts of first-class homes and facilities.

So, what used to be considered a residential area for Bacolod office workers ended up as a posh subdivision. It makes North Point and the surrounding area a better planned urban development center than Bacolod.

Our hats off to the Ayala officials and also to Talisay City Mayor Eric Saratan, whose Sangguniang Panlungsod must have given him the necessary support to encourage Ayala to invest such a big amount as P7-billion in Talisay, and to transform the city into an ideal urban center that can rival Bacolod, even surpass it.

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Well, the other big news was the anointing of Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. and former San Carlos City Mayor Eugenio Lacson as gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial bets of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

NPC top honcho, former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, is scheduled to proclaim Alvarez and those in the ticket as the official NPC bets, against Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., and the United Negros Alliance slate.

Marañon, who claims that he remains a candidate for reelection, has yet to name the members of his ticket, or even his vice gubernatorial partner.

Alvarez served notice that he was carrying his contest against Marañon right into the latter’s own turf. This was gleaned by the report that he is fielding Narwin Javelosa against Alfredo Marañon III, who will run for mayor of Sagay. Former Provincial Board member Dino Acuña is reportedly set to contest the second district against Rafael Cueva, who is graduating as Sagay mayor.

In Cadiz City, former Mayor Eddie Boy Varela is challenging Mayor Patrick Escalante.

In the fifth district, BM Dino Yulo is considered a sure challenger against Rep. Alejandro Mirasol, who won in the special election last June to fill the position vacated after Rep. Ignacio Arroyo died.

In the third district, however, Rep. Albee Benitez will be contested by former Congressman Jose Carlos Lacson, the latter as Marañon’s choice.

Talisay Mayor Eric Saratan is to be challenged by Emelito Lizares, son of the late Talisay Mayor Amelo Lizares.

That game of musical chairs is still ongoing and the final ticket of the NPC will be known today at the NPC meeting at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod.

Expect an exciting electoral contest forthcoming.

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On the national scene, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s tiff with Senator Anthony Trillanes has a lot of tongues wagging.

The fact that President Benigno Aquino III himself yesterday paid tribute to Trillanes’ successful backdoor diplomacy, hints of the possibility that Enrile may no longer be sure of holding on to the Senate presidency after Trillanes sounded the call for his ouster.

But there is something more serious about the tiff and Trillanes’ role. First, he took on DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario’s role as the official diplomat. You don’t do that when you are just undertaking a special task for the President, who is the final arbiter insofar as foreign policy is concerned.

The problem is that Trillanes never had experience in diplomacy. So his acceptance of undertaking a backchannel role is highly questionable.

That is why Enrile said Trillanes committed a treasonous act against the country when he tried to assuage the Chinese naval authorities that Filipino fishermen are only interested in fishing and nothing else, insofar as the Scarborough Shoal is concerned.

That reportedly resulted in the withdrawal by the Chinese of several of its ships from the shoal.

The President is playing a dangerous game. He picked somebody who has not had much experience in diplomacy to undertake a backchannel talk with Chinese authorities on a very sensitive issue.

And, not only that, Trillanes ends up accusing del Rosario, the DFA head, as a traitor.

Does this mean that PNoy now wants the head of del Rosario? He has to defend his Foreign secretary. Or fire him if he finds del Rosario unworthy of his trust in the face of Trillanes’s deadly thrust.

Del Rosario may find himself in a very untenable situation with Trillanes’ blast. The President either must defend del Rosario, or fire him.

And, perhaps, install Trillanes as new DFA chief.*

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