IT IS A PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE that Isabela City became a newly created city in Zamboanga Peninsula Region following the approval of an executive order issued by Malacañang.
Isabela City was dubbed as Future Rising City in Southern Philippines based on the passage of resolution duly approved by the City Government of Isabela under the leadership of the first mayor, the late Mayor Luis Boboy Biel II, a source tells me.
In addition, source said that Isabela City was presently encountering political crisis after the death of Mayor Boboy Biel by an assassin in May 2005.
Political crisis in Isabela City has greatly affected its economic status as there are strong political rivalries/competitions of people who wanted to stay in power or take the reign of power in the city through electoral processes comes May 2007 elections.
As I interviewed some political leaders in Isabela City, they answered in different perspectives. One politician who don’t want to be identified, said that the political crisis that cause economic crisis in the city should be adequately addressed by saving Isabela City from incompetent, corrupt and immoral officials who continued to destroy the good image of the city. According to this politician, it is through Salva Isabela Movement that the city could be saved. The source said that the creation of Salva Isabela is a program of COMELEC- Isabela City that encourages every Isabeleño citizen to go out, register, and exercise their rights to vote comes 2007 elections.
The program was adopted by some concerned native-Isabeleños that includes civic, religious, and political leaders of the city, who then have the direct hand, by which the said COMELEC program became a movement, now called Salva Isabela Movement.
The movement has something to do of saving Isabela City with the three pillars: Competence, Performance, and Good Governance for efficient and effective implementation of developmental activities of the City Government of Isabela.
Organizers of the movement said that Isabeleños should unite and cooperate with each other to have continuous peace and development in Isabela City as being experience during the time of the late Mayor Boboy Biel.
Working together with COMELEC-Isabela City, the movement is calling the people of Isabela City to vote or choose the right candidates for various local positions in the executive and legislative levels for 2007 elections, especially the position of mayorship, that possesses the ability to unite people and managerial or administrative expertise to carry out the development mandates/priorities and programs of the city.
The source also said, aside from Salva Isabela Movement, another movement was created known as the Angelicus Party, which is composed of intelligent, honest, and God-fearing individuals who revealed that there are mayoralty aspirants for Isabela City who are not fitted for the requirements of such executive post due to lack or limited education, training, and experience in local governance, most especially in legal and economic aspects, the needed personal characteristic traits and values formation.
Angelicus Party added that without having these potentials of a good leader, for sure, a particular political aspirant will come out an incompetent one, non-performing asset, and therefore could never do the expected best performance results in terms of achieving quality governance/administration.
The source further said that analytical surveys were conducted by a research group from a prominent academe in Region IX, Zamboanga City, which came out that only one qualified candidate, out of the four aspirants for the mayoralty slit for Isabela City based on qualification standards.
Researchers said this one and only qualified candidate could be known later when proper time comes, source further stressed.
Survey results also revealed that a moneyed and powerful political aspirant could not be a sure factor of winning an election because the voting public becomes more aware, wise, and professional in choosing their future leaders as being influenced by the modern technological trends of times and also following the dictates of their conscience, vibrations, intellects, and emotions.
This report said that with the economic crisis we have, most voters will really ride on with dirty or money politics by receiving any offer from a political candidate in terms of money, gift, or in any kind to satisfy their daily needs, but he/she thinks or use his/her right to express his/her vote by writing the name(s) of his/her favored candidate(s) in the ballot sheet.
Proven guilty relative to giving of any remuneration or incentives in exchange of a vote in an election period is a gross violation of COMELEC rules and regulations and is ground for disqualification of any aspirant(s) for elective posts, report added.
At present, this report said that there are four aspirants for mayor in the city of Isabela, to exclude the incumbent Mayor Rodolfo “Rody” Tan, who became the second mayor of the young city in Basilan due to succession under the Local Government Code following the death of elected Mayor Luis Boboy Biel II.
For those who signified the intention to vie for the mayoralty post in Isabela City are as follows: Former Mayor, Governor, Congressman, Postmaster-General, PCGG Commissioner, DILG Undersecretary, and Basilan Task Force (BASTAF) Executive-Director, Atty. Alvin Dans, Former Councilor and ABC President, Teddy Barandino, Medical Practitioner and Neophyte in politics and the son of the late Mayor Biel, Richie Biel and Businesswoman and Neophyte in politics and the wife of Basilan Incumbent Gov. Ustadz Wahab Akbar, Cherilyn Akbar.
In an interview with Alvin Dans by one of the radio network in Zamboanga City, he said that among the political candidates for Isabela City mayorship, four are committed Christian faith believers and one who was ones a devoted Christian now a convert Muslim believer because of her marriage with a Muslim-yakan.
Dans added that with the present political situation in Isabela City, wherein two or more Christians are running for mayor, Mrs. Akbar definitely has an edge compared with the Christian candidates.
Dans further said that, it is not an intention to discriminate neither separate/segregate and or isolate in order not to give chance to a Muslim aspirant to hold key position(s) in a public office to serve their fellow-muslim populace since Muslim and Christian people in Isabela City, have been united, marrying each other, and working together for a common purpose for the welfare of their respective generations.
However, Dans further elaborated that with the present competition in politics due to new trends of global development, the forthcoming May 2006 elections becomes a free for all decisions or intentions by both Christians and Muslims considering that both opposite political rivalries or opponents have the capacities to launch a local campaign in Isabela City as well as political machineries to defeat an opponent.
Dans proposed for a unity team-building consultative meeting to be held in a neutral ground wherein every concerned Isabeleño(s) is/are invited to discuss issues and concerns confronting Isabela City’s political crisis situation.
Other sources said that if the truly dedicated Isabeleños loved Isabela City, only one qualified candidate in the Christian sector for mayor in Isabela City will run to solidify the votes of the Christian populace, including those other votes from Muslim groups rather than dividing the Christian votes against the solid Yakan votes represented by Mrs. Akbar for this coming 2007 polls. Plus, the other aspirants will give their full support to the one qualified candidate representing the Christian sector.
Dans had expressed his willingness to submit himself for a supreme sacrifice not to join for Isabela City’s mayoralty race and even to offer his full support, for as long as there will be only one qualified candidate to be picked-up and endorsed for the said mayoralty bit. Dans hopes other aspirants for mayor in Isabela City will do the same thing as what he did for the good of Isabeleño residents.
Political figures in Isabela City said that they are willing to sacrifice in the name of peace and unity for achieving development prosperity in Isabela City and in Basilan as a whole.
While other political aspirants for elective positions for the City Government of Isabela said that they are also willing to sacrifice their ambitions by not running in any public office for the city, provided only one qualified candidate be chosen to fill-up the executive chief position in Isabela City in the name of public service and for the good of the entire populace of Isabela City.
Report added that with the kind of circumstance that Isabela City is beset with, all political aspirants for Isabela City mayoralty and other local posts are suggested to convey for a convention or consensus-building to choose among themselves through internal ballot voting to be witnessed by various sectoral representatives from Isabela City. (Mindanao Examiner)
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