Billionaire - mayoralty bet uses feng shui for date with Comelec

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BAYAMBANG – A feng shui expert told a billionaire-mayoralty bet in Bayambang, Pangasinan that October 13 was a lucky date to file his certificate of candidacy (CoC) at the Commission on Election (Comelec).

Feng shui is a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment.

TICKET. The mayoralty ticket of Dr. Cezar Quimbao (4th from left)
meets the press and his hundreds of supporters at the convention
 hall of his Royal Mall in Bayambang after  they simultaneously filed
their Certificate of Candidacies at the Commission of Election.

 Business tycoon Cezar S. Quimbao said that he should be filing his CoC on October 12 to avoid October 13, that represents misfortune, because of a business trip abroad on October 14.

“ Sabi sa akin ng feng shui master, sir Quimbao mag file kayo, 13 is a good day from 9 Am to 11 (Am) so nakita ninyo ho nag file kami. Nag simba kami,” he told media men and his supporters at a press conference held at his Royal Mall in the rustic town an hour after he and his ticket filed their CoCs at the Comelec.

He said the feng shui expert told him October 13 showed that he would be changing his career from being a businessman to a politician.

 “Pero hindi ako magiging traditional politician. If ever given a chance magalit na kung sino magalit, gagawin natin kung ano ang nararapat, wala akong vested interest sa pulitika,” he told the roaring and applauding crowd.

Quimbao had already gave hundreds of millions of pesos to this first class town’s coffer as business taxes after he registered here his mammoth businesses like Strategic Alliance Holdings Inc , U.S $80 million Build-Own-Operate’s Land Transportation Office-Information Technology’s Stradcom project , U.S$ 120 million Lares computerization of the Land Registration Authority, and others that are mostly based in Manila.

In one of these years he paid P20 million in business taxes that this town’s used to buy several heavy equipment like bulldozers and funded some infrastructure projects.

He was known to bankroll the mayoralty victory of Mayor Leocadio de Vera in 1997‘s election and supported incumbent Mayor Ricardo Camacho during the latter earlier term in office.

But his relationship with the mayor turned sour when the latter was implicated to a series of corruption issues.

Quimbao sued Camacho at the Ombudsman after this town Councilor Levin Uy discovered at a seminar in Baguio City that Camacho approved the release of P1,896 million from the coffer to pay the 8,000 grills for an 8 kilometers interconnected grills that Quimbao had already paid in the town’s bid for the Guinness  World Record’s longest grill during the fiesta’s street grilling with   112,000 pieces of freshwater fishes.

“Saan niya ilalagay iyong tatlong kilometrong grills? Ginamit niya iyong 400 years (town) anniversary para doon sa disbursement para makakuha lang siya ng pera. It was a ghost project,” an angry Quimbao told Northern Watch before.
When he learned that this town became a killing field, Quimbao donated countless close circuit television (CCTV) to be installed in the 77 villages here.
“Ano ang sinabi ko? Levin (Uy, town councilor) coordinate with the PNP para sa CCTV. So nag coordinate kami sa PNP na mag lagay (kami) ng CCTV, napaka lungkot hindi makabit ang CCTV kasi ayaw pagamit because invasion daw ng privacy. Pero the main reason for that is pulitika”.

Lately former Mayor de Vera, Department of Education Supervisor Henry dela Cruz, the town’s former Councilor Efresinio Sabangan, and Village Chief Romulo Roque were gunned down.  Only De Vera survived the assassination’s attempt.
What broke the proverbial camel’s back, Quiambao said, that caused him to  contest the mayoralty race was when the Camacho Administration torpedoed his program to train 7,000 members of the poorest of the poor for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program ( 4Ps).
“Napakalungkot pinigilan ho kami kasi hindi puwede mag training sa mga 4Ps kasi pulitika daw. Iyan po ang nagtulak sa akin! Na sabi ko lahat na lang na gusto natin gawin para sa kabutihan ng bayan ay pinipigilan. So kung ako ang palarin walang pipigil sa ating bayan”.

Quimbao will be pitted with the wife of outgoing Mayor Camacho, former Mayor de Vera, and Councilor Chato Junio.
Quimbao has been helping for free the indigents here since 20 years ago through Micro-Small & Median Entrepreneurship Training, Computer Hardware Servicing, Reflexology, Cosmetology, Ventosa, Swedish, Thai Massage, Hair cutting, Manicure/Pedicure, Hair and Scalp Treatment, Food Processing (Buro and other product), RAC Servicing (DomRac), Electrical Installation and Maintenance, SMAW, and Housekeeping.
Councilor Uy – who was later assassinated - said that ticket of Quimbao had been composed of Raul Sabangan for vice mayor, Martin Terrado, Mylvin T. Junio, Diony Angeles, Minik Flores, Rogelio Domalanta, Benjie de Vera, and Amore Junio for members of the Sangguniang Bayan.