The Mountain Province vote (again)

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Talk is rife that political realignment is inevitable following reported duplicity among politicians in this mountain resort during the May 13 election.

You go to any coffee shop or watering hole like Luisa’s Cafe along Session Road, the undisputed tambayan of the media and other seedy characters and the topic is why Mauricio Domogan is still mayor while councillor Nicasio Aliping is suddenly congressman.

The open gossip is that there was really an AliDom tandem – not a VerDom. Of course, we are referring to the former as Aliping-Domogan and the latter as Vergara-Domogan. The re-elected mayor however always denies this when asked by the media.

If Aliping beat incumbent Rep. Bernardo Vergara, self-styled political analysts say, it is largely owing to the Mountain Province vote among other factors which includes the blessing of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. Forget the Roman Catholic vote. There is no such monster.   

               

They reason Mountain Province folks voted for Aliping because he is a kailian from Bauko, Mountain Province and it would be easier to talk to him as he talks their dialect. Domogan meanwhile traces his roots from Besao town, also in the province.

It would be interesting if somebody would make a survey on how many people from Mountain Province reside and vote in the city.

               

It is now obvious, observers say, that many people from “up north.” as a former city legal officer alludes in his column in a local weekly paper, have become a potent force in terms of voting power as many have migrated to this city owing to lack of livelihood opportunities in Mountain Province.

They have made their mark in the city and now are running many business establishments and so, would rather vote for somebody from their province they could talk to and not one who can’t even speak Ilokano.

               

There may also be truth to the contention that some “native Cordillerans” from Kalinga, Ifugao, Apayao, Abra and Benguet, even if they don’t want to be called Igorots would vote for somebody who is “indigenous.”

               

This, aside from the observation that the INC has  also become a potent force in Baguio politics as members vote as one as Vergara painfully found out. When Vergara ran for Congress in the 2007 polls, he was given the nod by the INC and won.

               

However last May13, the INC once again showed its deadly form by turning its back on Vergara and endorsing Aliping. There is talk of course that the INC conducts its own surveys and always endorses the winning candidate without taking into consideration capability and integrity.     

               

Be that as it may, Aliping won, Vergara lost. Like we said, go to Luisas and you will hear a lot of reasons why this happened. As to why Domogan always wins every election, you may read again above paragraphs.

               

 There is also grumbling among “lowlanders” and Ibalois why they can’t seem to topple Domogan.The lowlanders, who are either Ilocanos. Tagalogs, Kapampangans or Pangalatoks, according to observers, don’t have unity to elect their own leader, reason why the “Igorots” from “up north” are now lording it over them.

               

If it is chess, they can’t find the proper strategy to get to the king, pundits say. The lowlanders always had Vergara, or former mayors Jun Labo and Lardizabal of a bygone era, but it seems, basing from result of the latest elections, another Igorot is bound to rule. The Ibalois wanted to install somebody from their group and came up with lawyer Jose Molintas whom they pitted against Domogan. But twice in a row, he came up short.

               

 So now, some lowlanders and Ibalois, who don’t want an Igorot who is not of their kind (or rather one who is kankanaey) as congressman or mayor are thinking of convincing Vergara and Mark Go to talk and field a common candidate for Congress three years from now. Go ran for Congress the past two elections and like Molintas, also lost.

Last elections, Go’s votes were even higher than Vegara’s, reason why the latter complained there may indeed have been something terribly wrong with the PCOS machines as only five barangay captains went for him, considering that we was the incumbent congressman.

Pundits however reason, it was because of the AliDom factor.  According to observers, the combined votes of Vergara and Go could surely topple Aliping or Domogan for congressman or mayor.

Domogan’s followers however doubt he would run for Congress in 2016 saying he would rather complete his latest term as mayor.       

 It would be an interesting fight for the congressional seat should Vergara and Go decide among themselves who will be the sacrificial pawn and who will tout the “lowland/Ibaloi”  banner against Aliping for the congressional seat during the 2016 elections considering the outcome of number of votes for the position last May 13.

Three years is just around the corner. The winners haven’t yet sat on their chairs, but political moves to oust them have started for 2016. Like summer rains, politics indeed wets and stirs an otherwise boring city.