Lamenting that they have become virtual second-class citizens in their own party, heavyweight members of the Lakas-Kampi in Bohol have signed a manifesto assailing the new party leadership both in the provincial and national levels. The strongly-worded position paper entitled “No More Hypocrisy And Treachery” virtually signals the end of the Lakas dominance in Bohol. “We therefore declare our common and united stand expressing loss of confidence in the present Party provincial leadership led by Cong. Edgar M. Chatto and the national party leadership led by Gov. Rene Miguel Dominguez,” the paper declared. The signatories said that over the last few months, they have witnessed the “slow but unmistakable disintegration” of Lakas as the dominant political party in Bohol.
“We have arrived at a common consensus to come up with this Position Paper to express our collective sentiments on the shabby treatment that we have received from both the national and provincial leadership of the Party,” the signatories declared. The signatories read like a who's who not only in the Lakas-Bohol hierarchy but also in the provincial political map. They include Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas, incumbent League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Bohol president; Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren, LMP Bohol immediate past president; second district board member Josephine Socorro Jumamoy, also LMP Bohol past president; Danao Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga, LMP Bohol executive vice president; Mayors Theresa Camacho, Getafe; Telesforo Balagosa, Lila; Jono Jumamoy, Inabanga; Elsa Tirol, Buenavista; Juanario Item, Talibon; and Germinio Relampagos, Dagohoy; and Jagna Councilor Senen Lloren, Philippine Councilors League Bohol vice president who is running for third district board member.
For the purpose of brevity, the signatories narrowed down their gripes to three major events that led to the faithful decision to come out with the position paper “expressing disillusionment over acts inimical to the people of Bohol ”. The first was the “unceremonious rejection” of Salinas as first district congressional bet in favor of ex-Gov. Rene Relampagos, “a non-party member who had been adversarial to the party interest in all previous elections”. The second was the “shameless manipulation” that led to the revocation of the certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) issued to Gov. Erico Aumentado for the second congressional district. Finally, “the last straw that broke the camel's back” was the move of Rep. Roberto Cajes to field candidates against loyal Lakas members in the towns of Talibon, Getafe and Dagohoy. “This is the ultimate insult to Lakas members in these towns who had done their share for the Party in the previous elections,” the paper said.
The group said Salinas' rejection to accommodate Relampagos sent alarm signals to majority of the party members not only because Salinas is the incumbent LMP Bohol president but also because there was no prior mention “much less consultation regarding a coalition” with the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino of Relampagos who was “summarily adopted” as first district bet. In the case of Aumentado's Cona rejection, the signatories said treachery was evident because the conspirators “waited until the last minute for the filing of the certificate of candidacy” on Dec. 1, 2009 before they revealed the revocation. “No amount of self-righteous assertions by the Party could justify the act of embarrassing the no. 1 Party member in the Province of Bohol and Regional Lakas Chairman at that,” the paper added. They said that the swiftness in which an undefeated three-term governor was stripped of his rights sent fear down the line. “If it can happen to Gov. Aumentado, it can happen to any of us,” they noted.
On their third beef, the signatories said the move of Cajes “is the ultimate insult to Lakas members in these towns who had done their share for the Party in the previous elections.” The paper said that instead of mending fences, Chatto, his wife, Cong. Cajes, Mayor Cajes and Board Member Concepcion Lim, his vice-gubernatorial candidate, gather town officials and leaders to meetings where they bad-mouth Gov. Aumentado. They are actually dividing the Party right down the middle and pitting Lakas against Lakas. “This leads us to the inevitable question: is this what we get for being loyal to the Party all these years?” the signatories asked. They pointed out that they were part of the Lakas machinery that gave a solid majority to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2004. “Many of us including the municipal chapters in Getafe, Dagohoy, Buenavista and Danao, all in the second district, delivered 12-0 wins for the Lakas senatorial ticket in the 2007 elections,” the recalled.
They noted that Aumentado was the leader of the League of Provinces of the Philippines and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines that vigorously supported Arroyo when she was threatened by constitutional crises. “We can no longer stomach the hypocrisy and treachery that are being employed against us even after all the years of unquestioned loyalty and faithfulness to the Party,” they declared. They also complained that there has been no effort undertaken by the national leadership and the new provincial leadership under Chatto to seek out the growing number of disgruntled Lakas members to listen to their sentiments, address their concerns if not solve their problems. Saying they are not going to take this sitting down, the signatories said they assert their right to be treated with dignity and respect among their peers especially within their own party. “We are aware that we have a responsibility not only to our Party but more so to our people to struggle with them to achieve progress, prosperity and peace without losing the virtues of honesty, sincerity and mutual respect,” they stressed.
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