MOST AWAITED SUAL POLL
By Mortz C. Ortigoza
SUAL, Pangasinan – Seasoned politician former Congressman Jesus “Boying” Celeste described himself as a matador (bullfighter) pitted to the less experienced tandang (rooster) in the most sought fight of the 2022 mayoral election the whole province of Pangasinan waited with interest.
The rooster the former solon dubbed is incumbent Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay – who is serving his first term as the chief executive of the local government unit here.
“At ang gusto ko ring malaman ninyo magmula ng dumating kami rito sa inyong bayan. Nakatutok po lahat ang inyong probinsiya Pangasinan sa laban na ito sa ngalan ng pulitika. Ito po ang pinapanood nilang laban dahil ako po ang lalaban kung baga hindi po sa pagdadala ng sariling bangko ang kalaban ko po tandang ako po ang matador experienciado,” he told the bevy of applauding supporters who attended his consultation at the congressional office here of his younger brother First District Rep. Arnold “Noli” Celeste.
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| A matador (bullfighter) (left, photo) and a tandang (fighting cock). |
In the 2019 mayoralty election this town was tagged by the Commission on Election as hotspot where one of its grounds was the assassination of Barangay Sto. Domingo Chairman Romulo Agbayani through a .45 caliber hand gun in front of his house by motorcycle men riding in tandem.
Former Mayor Roberto ”Bing” Arcinue, an ally of the Celeste, described the dangerous situations like menacing men wearing black jackets roamed gung-ho on their two-wheel vehicle in the nineteen villages of the coastal town instilling fear to his supporters.
“Somebody wanted to paint my town as chaotic. One of my village chiefs was assassinated last June (2018) without even a known reason,” former Mayor Arcinue said.
A pugnacious Celeste warned Calugay that any harm his supporters could inflict to his believers he would courageously deal.
“Kung gagalaw sila na anuhin nila kami talagang lalabanan ko sila”.
He said he would not allow to happen to his supporters what the advocates of his rival had done in the 2019 election, he said in a radio interview.
In November 2021, a giant indignation rally ensued here. It was participated by three thousand residents after the application of a half-a –billion pesos’ loan of the mayor and members of the legislature of this one of the country’s richest towns was approved by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
“Alam ninyo po at alam po nating lahat na ang pera na iyan ang walang patutunguhan. Pag iyan po ang ni release po ninyo. Ang kawawa po ay ang taong bayan ng Sual,” Leeward Caburao – the leader of the demonstrators and a candidate for the legislature under Celeste – articulated to the media the people’s opposition to the decision of the LBP about the irony of the P500 million debt. This despite the almost four hundred million budget this town derived from local and national taxes and appropriated them to its yearly budget.
The 1,000 MW Sual Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant hosting town was ranked No. 2 richest in 2017 among the 1,488 municipalities in the Philippines.
In 2020, Cmci.dti.gov.ph however did not include the LGU as what it titled the Top 10 richest municipalities in the Philippines.
Since the almost three years' term of Calugay started in 2019, critics have accused his administration of incompetence.
With the consummation of the half-a-billion pesos’ loan, this town – Celeste’s supporters aver - will further recede to her glorious rank as one of the richest towns in the Philippines because the significant part of its collected revenues like the P200 million a year business and property taxes from the power plant and the P150,000 national and local taxes will be used for the yearly amortization of the loan.
The vice mayoralty tandem of Celeste is Councilor John Christopher Arcinue. He is the grandson and son of the former two mayors here. He is pitted with Vice Mayor Dioneil Caburao who is running in this year's poll under Mayor Calugay.
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