A once celebrated figure is predicted to change Misamis Occidental’s political landscape when he makes a comeback and joins the gubernatorial race in next year’s polls.
This was how former board member Morpheus Agot foresees incumbent Plaridel mayor and former 1st District Rep. Ernie Clarete’s future decision, which Agot surmised, will be borne out of the mayor’s frustration on his erstwhile political buddy Vice Gov. Francisco Paylaga Jr.
Formerly a Lakas stalwart, Paylaga, who used the acronym of the late movie actor and defeated presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. during the last elections, jumped shipped to Sen. Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party and joined Clarete—the senator’s close friend.
“Seryoso ni nga butang. Ato ning panid-an karon unsa ni katinuod. Unsa kaha ni ba, nganong nadungog ni?” Agot said during his early morning program aired over DxOC.
Agot said that talks about Clarete’s imminent option came about in grapevines roaming around the first district after the politician was informed on Gov. Loreto Ocampos publicly endorsing Paylaga in his provincial sorties as "future governor.”
Ocampos’ endorsement also solicited unforgiving remarks from 2nd District Rep. Herminia Ramiro who told journalists that the governor is exercising a “one-man rule” when he endorsed Paylaga as future governor during a birthday bash last September.
Ramiro, who signified that she will also run for governor in next year’s elections, is an original Lakas member and an ally of Ocampos.
She added that Ocampos cannot just endorse anybody since there is yet no official declaration from the party and that such a situation in Misamis Occidental is yet to be decided upon by their party’s arbitration committee.
And if ever the matter is decided upon by Lakas-Kampi at the appointed time or if hell breaks loose, Ramiro, a staunch Arroyo supporter, tersely said she will be the party’s standard bearer for governorship in the province.
Meanwhile, if Agot’s prediction will be accurate, there will be four candidates vying for governorship in the province: Clarete, Paylaga, Ramiro and Vice Mayor Carlos Patricio Bernad.
Bernad is the grandson of the late Gov. Anselmo Bernad who served the province in the early 1940’s. Formerly another Ocampos ally in the administration party, he recently left and took his oath of membership to Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s Liberal Party.
Back to Agot’s predictions, he continued saying that Clarete’s entry in the gubernatorial race will divide the votes of the two districts of the province, with the solid votes from the first district in his favor and the second district split among Paylaga, Ramiro and Bernad.
“Makalawgaw ni nga sitwasyon. Maka-usob sa dagan sa politika dinhi sa ato,” Agot commented.
To recall, it was in 1998, during the rift between the late Vice Gov. Florencio Garcia and then board member Henry Oaminal who both wanted to wrestle the governorship that Clarete gambled his luck and ran for the position.
Then labeled as a “dark horse” by the media, he won by a wide margin against the two warring parties but he only served one term before becoming a congressman in his district and now as town mayor.
Clarete’s vice governor then was Ocampos, who took the seat in 2001 and is set to complete his term by 2010.
REPORT BY MICHAEL MEDINA