Only crumbs for PaDayon Pilipino without Emano
|
WHAT will happen to PaDayon Pilipino without Dongkoy Emano?
Answer: It will vaporize. Aerify. Evaporate. Fly away. Go away. Vanish. Disappear. Break down. Fall apart. Crumble. Collapse. Decay. Rot. Cease to exist. Yes, die.
Remember, "The Godfather"? Without a doubt, Dongkoy Emano is the Don Vito Corleone of Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro politics.
From a mere "neighborhood association," the PaDayon Pilipino became the most influential, dominant and perhaps, the one and only political Cosa Nostra "family" in this part of the country.
PaDayon grew and built a political empire in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro. It made Emano the local political kingpin, a sort of political don. (Correction: It was Emano who built the political empire for PaDayon Pilipino, and it was Emano who made himself a political kingpin.) For that feat, Emano can be a good case study for students of Filipino-style traditional politics.
He played his cards well, and Lady Luck was always on his side. Some call it fate. But just like any ordinary mortal, Dongkoy's age is catching up on him fast, and so far, there is no successor in sight.
Don Vito had a Sanito, and when a rival family got rid of Sanito, Michael Corleone was there to take the don's place. But Dongkoy, he has none.
Emano's one and only son Bambi is serving his third and last term as mayor of Tagoloan town. I have not heard any irregularity in the younger Emano's administration, and my impression is that he has been doing well in Tagoloan. Bambi has strong points; he has qualities--like good naturedness, for example--that were apparently passed on to him by his mother. Unfortunately for Bambi, the command--the kind of political charisma--that his father has is nontransferable just as Dongkoy's baritone voice is nonhereditary. Bluntly put, Bambi Emano has shown no signs of being a Sonny or Mike Corleone.
Remove Dongkoy Emano from the equation and PaDayon Pilipino is nothing. There is no one with an Emano blood, or in the PaDayon Pilipino, or in Dongkoy's circle, who qualifies to be called "Don," or as Emano is fondly called, "Alas."
This is where Emano failed: PaDayon Pilipino can't stand on its own feet without him.
All of a sudden, we see a recharged local opposition; it is drawing strength from a reelection ban that has turned Emano into a lameduck. He will remain a lameduck unless, by some stroke of luck, the Constitution is changed before the 2007 elections.
Add to this, Emano's announcement that he was contemplating a comeback in Misamis Oriental further raised the local opposition's energy level. Soon after that announcement, news broke out about ex-mayor Ambing Magtajas meeting at least four times with the "old guards" of the PDP-Laban. They talked about the possibility of a Magtajas-Gapuz tandem. To think that Magtajas repeatedly announced earlier that he's retired from politics!
What does this mean? It means that with Emano out of Cagayan de Oro politics, the opposition is convinced that it can give anyone in the PaDayon Pilipino a run for his/her money. Chicken feed, so they say.
The thought of an Emano-less city hall in the summer of 2007 is enough to make the opposition, much more if it becomes united, bag the bulk of the local campaign contributions starting next year. Without Emano in Cagayan de Oro, PaDayon Pilipino would likely get breadcrumbs.
The only way not to allow this to happen, I guess, is if Emano decides to stay in the city. The most logical move is for him to seek the city's lone congressional post, and then run for mayor again three years after, assuming, of course, if he's still physically able by that time.
The vice mayoral post is an option, of course. But running for vice mayor would be a bit demeaning for a politician of Emano's stature. Being a political don, Emano may opt to do this and then assume the mayoral post by way of automatic succession (granting that the elected mayor agrees to step down). But that would be luod, garapal, and I doubt if Emano would stoop down to that level.
Or he could return to the province, and leave his Cagayan de Oro group to rot.
Or, retire. Why not?
Pastilan.
| Webweaving by Zerobull |