first posted on May 29, 2013...
Copied from Bading Dimacuha's blog
No, don't get me wrong - I am not campaigning for Joe T. We never talked. But he is the rallying point of CHANGE IN BATANGAS CITY, that her people deserve, a long time ago. I root for change, and Joe T is circumstantial. He will have all the chances to do good, but if he doesn't, I will not hesitate to join forces that will be against him. We will be vigilant of his administration, but support all the good he can do. Let us just give him a chance.
(Overwhelmed
with the readers’ interest in my posts, I am writing this next series. My page
views suddenly leaped to about 1,100 from 600+ since the first post on this
subject).
For 25
years, the Dimacuhas of Batangas City, headed by patriarch Eduardo, have been
in power since 1988. After his first 3 terms as mayor, Eduardo was replaced by
son, Dondon. Then he made a comeback and was Mayor again for 9 years. In 2010,
after completing yet another 9-years or 3-terms, he was replaced by wife,
Vilma, the incumbent. This elections year 2013, he is running again to reclaim
his old post as mayor.
His grand
plan, if he wins again, would be to retire and anoint son Reginald to succeed
him. And who is this Reginald “RD” Dimacuha? Like his father, RD is a lawyer.
Because Eduardo has little trust in his wife’s ability to run city hall, RD is
appointed Secretary to the Mayor. It is common knowledge that he is actually
running city hall, upon his father’s instructions. So Vilma in effect is just
the titular or ceremonial mayor.
Copied from Bading Dimacuha's blog
Evidently,
this setup did not escape the eyes of many observers that it has become a butt
of joke. Bading Dimacuha in his blog http://batangascityleaks.blogspot.com,
a parody of the famous Wikileaks in America, produced hilarious insights in the
city hall and even the personal life of the Dimacuhas. As an example, Vilma
would formally open meetings, but RD would do all the talking. According to
Bading’s blog, Vilma would sit quietly, nod her head as if in agreement with RD,
munch food to her gusto, and leave the meeting to RD.
Obviously,
the Dimacuhas have felt a sense of over confidence, similar to a business
owner. Treating Batangas City as a family corporation resulted to complacence
and even disregard to people’s sensibilities.
Then the mother
of all scam exploded: Vilma and RD, who is supposedly a classmate of the lawyer
representing a power company that owes the City about P9.9 billion in back
taxes on real property, agreed for a settlement of only P 990 million or a scandalous
10% of the total obligation - practically a write-off for such a big multinational. And they had the nerve to get the City Council to
ratify the same. Of course they easily got what they wanted because only the
vice mayor and 3 councilors refused to ratify the agreement (http://batangascityleaks.blogspot.com/2012/11/kalaboso-sina-mayora-at-bakla.html).
In other words, Dimacuha once again applied his secret weapon – the tyranny of
the majority (and he is the majority stockholder so to speak).
Council ratification of the controversial tax write-off
So the rage
of the people starts to manifest, with the modern technology used as the
jumping board, because it is safer for the opposition to be incognito in the
face of a fierce dictator. Readers began to search for the truth, shared
information using pseudonym and aliases, while the others who get the
information pass the stories through whispers and sarcastic jokes.
People look
at 2013 elections as the best way to repudiate the Dimacuhas. Various surveys
indicate the Joe Tolentino is leading anywhere from 10 to 18% of the votes. His
running mate, Bart Blanco is way ahead Dimacuha’s running mate, Eloisa de
Loyola-Portugal, daughter of former Dimacuha nemesis, Florencio, who for one
reason or another suddenly made a turn-around and allowed his daughter to
become a Dimacuha stooge.
So the question
that hangs in the air is “will Dimacuha win?” I share an educated guess that
NOT BY ANY CHANCE!
All the odds
are against him. First, he is ailing, and can no longer afford to bear the
rigors of the campaign. Second, while he has the largesse of a campaign kitty,
they are not enough to rebuild his credibility. Third, even with all the
advantage that he has – resources and firepower – technology has coped up with
his antics. Yes, he cannot manipulate as he used to, the new electoral
automated system entirely.
People should
no longer be afraid because he could never monitor whom they voted for, even if
they accept all the money, house materials, groceries and lately, even chicks
and chickens, so they can shade the number of Joe Tolentino, without fear of
reprisal.
And reprisal
he would not be capable anymore after May 13, 2013 because he has already made
plans for his escape from ignominy. Such will be the fate of a hated dynasty!
No, don't get me wrong - I am not campaigning for Joe T. We never talked. But he is the rallying point of CHANGE IN BATANGAS CITY, that her people deserve, a long time ago. I root for change, and Joe T is circumstantial. He will have all the chances to do good, but if he doesn't, I will not hesitate to join forces that will be against him. We will be vigilant of his administration, but support all the good he can do. Let us just give him a chance.
No more Dimacuha dynasty. Palayain ang Lungsod ng Batangas!
Readers may contact me at bmacalalad@hotmail.com (threats will be gladly entertained!)
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