Voters Price Depend on Another Rival’s Capacity to Give

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

The amount that a rich candidate will give to voters as election approaches depend on the price his rival shelled out to each of the electorates, according to a barangay (village) chairman tasked by a mayoralty bet in this town to do his bidding.
“Depende iyan sa kalaban. Pag nagbigay siya ng P1000 sa botante, iyong boss ko magbibigay siya ng P1,500,” the village chief in Pangasinan, who asked for anonymity, told this writer.

This conversation ensued when he was asked if vote buying can breach the P2,500 mark for each electorate comes election time.
“Puwede pag nagbigay ang kalaban ng P2000. Pero I doubt kung kaya ng rival kasi limitado ang pera niya”.

VOTE FOR SALE: A leader (R) of a political candidate in the Philippines shell-out sums to buy the vote of an electorate.

 When asked how much his patron spent on the truckloads of voters who were ferried in a warehouse to receive P500 each two weeks before the May 13, 2019 election, this what he retorted:
“My estimate was P1.5 million. P500 multiplied by 3,000 of these voters  who were brought there to attend some pep talks with the mayoralty bet and some councilors”.

Stunts Done by Politicos to Win Poll

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

With roughly 3,000 lead votes by Dagupan City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez against mayoral rival and Vice Mayor Brian Lim in the recent scientific poll, the former and her supporters should guard themselves on the surprises the latter can pull as the May 13, 2019 election approaches.

Then re-elective Bonuan Gueset Barangay Chairman Angel Gumarang lost to challenger and come backing kapitan candidate Rico Mejia when then Dagupan City Mayor Benjie S. Lim struck out a drama that saw the reelective village chief, with all the resources of the huge village at his disposal, lost to Mejia.

Gumarang told us media men then that he could not do his hustings effectively to the various sitios of the biggest village in the city, mind you guys its population bigger than those fourth class towns, because the police through the order of Lim watched him and his men closely.

 

He even suspected that his driver was bribed by the other camp to incriminate him and change the momentum of his campaign strategies.

 “Kap, pagasulinahan natin ito mamaya. Problema pa natin iyan baka maubusan tayo ng gasolina pag umikot tayo,” the driver told him in the eve of the October 25, 2010 barangay election.

He said another two of his unwitting aides accompanied the driver.

Firearms "Planted" by the Police

After the clock hit midnight, the car was cruising to the gasoline station in the village but was immediately flagged down by policemen manning a newly installed check point.

How Other Mayors Create Economics Opportunities to People

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Major news magazines and newspapers printed in Imperial Manila have news about the newly acknowledged Guinness World Record’s tallest steel framed and engineered bamboo panels’ Saint Vincent Ferrer statue in Bayambang, Pangasinan.

Their news features jibe with the Holy Week as Filipinos went to their provinces and spend the long religious holidays and weekends there.

I will not talk about religion here since I’m not competent about it. The only verses in the Bible I could memorize is John 3:16 and the other one whenever I quaffed a half  glass alcohol contained 80 proof 750 ml Tanduay and White Castle in high school and college's “Verseculo Baso Kapitulo E.S.Q“.

E.S.Q is Extra Smooth Quality as come - on by Tanduay to young but poor drinkers like me.

I’m going to talk about the economics opportunity for the people created by local government units like the town of Bayambang to attract tourists to visit the historic town. The town was  5th Capital of the Revolutionary Philippine Republic during the Filipino – American War in 1899.

Last week I wrote about Bayambang under the administration of business tycoon and Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao as one of the top four richest first class towns in the 44 towns and four cities’ Pangasinan.

“We have PhP506 million budget this year where some come from the disposal of assets in Magsaysay,” he told the crowd from the public and private sectors who witnessed the inauguration of the proposed LGU housing project to be given to municipal hall’s employees in Barangay Bical Sur of the burgeoning town.

Quiambao told reporters that every year his family controlled corporations like Stradcom and other businesses like a mall pay more than PhP 80 million of their taxes  in the municipality.

Even the PhP250 million price tagged of the 50.23-meter statue to commemorate the 400th year of the establishment of Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish in Bayambang and the 600th death anniversary of the saint on April 5, 2019 was personally paid by Quiambao and his gorgeous wife actress Mary Clare Judith Phyllis “Niña” Jose-Quiambao, the multiplier effects that can be created by the mammoth statute could be incomparable.

“Attention: there is NO entrance fee to go inside and around the Prayer Park. FYI. Thank you, God bless you all,” I saw the post of Mrs. Jose- Quiambao at her Facebook account.

 The surge of people who motor to the pilgrims’ town like those vacationers who will make side trip in Bayambang from their Manila to Baguio City’s rendezvous, will be a spark plugged for more franchisees to own Jollibee, McDonald, Mang Inasal, Starbucks, Dunkin Donut, Yellow Cab Taxi, hotels, banks, gas stations, malls, and others to put shop there. That could spike employment in the town and even the province of Pangasinan and more business and real property taxes for the LGU.