When COVID-19 set foot in our country in early 2020, we got paralyzed not knowing how to deal with it. We learned to live with lockdowns and we had to keep up with all the terminologies they created, along with all kinds of QR codes and pass cards.
We survived and tried to go along with whatever government rammed down our throats.
2021 came and our year didn’t start as good as we hoped for, as it brought torrential rain that flooded northern Negros. Then midway, the COVID-19 Delta variant came into the picture and Negros Occidental and Bacolod became topnotchers in deaths and cases.
I found myself locked down in our home after half of the household got infected. We lost a brother and we experienced burying a loved one with just a handful of us present.
By the last quarter of 2021, we saw cases dropping and we had our hopes up as travel restrictions eased. My son Giancarlo was able to fly home after more than two years away, even for just a couple of months, before leaving again for greener pastures.
I got to fly twice to Manila in early December when authorities removed RT-PCR tests and quarantine measures for fully vaccinated persons. That gave me a chance to be with my two sons and family members whom I’ve not seen for over a year.
I seriously felt optimistic that we have seen the worst until Typhoon Odette came in just before the holidays and ravaged southern Negros. When we went to Sipalay days after to conduct relief and medical missions, it looked like a war zone. Yet, there is renewed hope in the faces of the people as there were plenty of Good Samaritans trooping to wherever they feel their help is much needed.
2021 was also a game-changer in our political world. Alliances were brokered and broken and we have a very polarizing fight at the national and local levels.
The Leni Robredo vs Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for the presidential race has produced rabid supporters and although there are other contenders for the position, it is likely that the fight will be between these two candidates. There are no indications that Mayor Isko Moreno and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao will end their bid yet so it is still anybody’s game of course.
At the local level, Governor Bong Lacson and Vice-Governor Jeffrey Ferrer are comfortable in their lead along with those who are unopposed. Some districts will be quiet which is not good for presidential candidates. It will be in the fifth district where most of the action will happen with a 3-cornered fight for the congressional race and all mayors have equally strong opponents.
Bacolod is where all eyes will be to see if the 20-year reign of Mayor Bing Leonardia will be ended by former Cong. Albee Benitez. They too have created rabid supporters and while Mayor Bing still has the upper hand statistically if we based it on the number of barangay captains still on his side, you cannot discount Albee’s popularity among the voting population who want change in leadership.
Everything seems to be quiet on Albee’s corner but from internal surveys conducted, he is gaining strength and they are from people who continue to see the same problems of traffic, garbage, alleged corruption, flooding and what have you, that they felt this administration was not able to resolve even after two decades in power.
The game-changer or rather, the thorn in Mayor Bing’s side now is Congressman Greg Gasataya who has succeeded in entrenching himself among the mayor’s party that despite the name-calling on who betrayed who, Greg managed to gain the loyalty of many supporters.
Mayor Bing on the other hand is also not letting up in putting pressures on all by showing up in many events with a congressional candidate, Dan Atayde in tow over the holidays. A source in GP said there is no actual order from the top to go for Atayde and so, they keep mum themselves and just “go with the flow.”
When the big order will come is anybody’s guess but for now, the GP handlers are keeping things quiet so as not to alienate GP members who are supporting Greg.
I happened to receive an alleged instruction to “Team GP” from “Team GP/ABEL.” I guess it was sent to me by mistake so I forwarded this to my GP source who confirmed that he read a similar thing but could not grasp where it came from. However, I was told that ABEL allegedly stands for Atayde, Bing and El Cid.
The note instructed recipients not to “bash or debate” known GP members who are supporting Greg. What is more important is that these supporters will not be convinced by Greg to go for Albee.
There are also instructions not to directly engage councilors and village officials who are still sympathetic to Greg but to go head-on against those who already transferred to the Albee’s camp.
We still have five more months to go before the election but political parties have not extended the holiday spirit and are back at each other’s throats. I heard from the grapevine that Greg lost a few barangay captains already after they were allegedly pressured because of its renewal time for job orders.
Oh well, that is nothing new. What is unfortunate is that it is barely a week into 2022 and things are starting to get ugly already. Nevertheless, my hopes remain high that somehow, we have a more learned voting population today that will take matters in their hands come May 2022.*