Opposing camps for the gubernatorial race in Ilocos Norte have taken their battle to the airwaves and made use of a radio slot for their battleground. For several days this week, former Ilocos Norte Gov. Rodolfo Fariñas, who is making a comeback bid, and a spokesman of outgoing Gov. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. have been dominating the airlanes by both buying a spot at a news program of Bombo Radyo-Laoag for their stinging tirades against each other’s camp. Marcos had tasked Samuel Bangloy, a former broadcast commentator, to publicize his achievements and, in the process, destroy the credibility of Fariñas, the rival of the governor’s cousin Michael Keon for the gubernatorial seat. Bangloy defended Marcos for being labeled as an “absentee governor” during his nine years at the Capitol saying that Marcos took his office with him whenever he travels abroad to invite foreign investors. He said Marcos did not want to make the Capitol his private residence unlike Fariñas who, he claimed, have made the official government seat virtually a private house where he sleeps and bathes. Stung by Bangloy’s remarks, Fariñas bought his own time slot and had since been counter-attacking the Marcos camp. Fariñas said the law mandates that the governor should establish the capitol as his official residence so that the people could have easy access to the sitting official. “The law is clear that the governor should always be found at the capitol so that he could be at hand at the beck and call of the people,” he said. He said Marcos was the opposite because he built a house far from the capitol and which made him less accessible to the people. “He (Marcos) lets the people around him do the talking whenever local officials or ordinary people would want to schedule a meeting with him,” he added. For his part, Marcos said his former friend claimed to have been always present at the capitol but could not show what he had achieved during the nine years he served as governor. “That comment comes from a limited idea that to be a good governor means to sign papers and hold meetings. That’s part of the job. (But more importantly) is to go out and look into possibilities and potentials and bring them back to the province. That’s what we have done,” he said. Marcos said he could point to health care, tourism, to agriculture, windmills and sports as some of his achievements while his rival could not raise any program during his term. Marcos and Fariñas were close friends and political allies until they broke their ties in 2001. Cristina Arzadon, Contributor
|
|