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| Vol. XX No. 43 |
January 03, 2001 |
Virac, Catanduanes |
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The Catanduanes Tribune Rawis, Virac Catanduanes, Philippines - 5001 Tel. No.: (052) 811-1267 or 811-2640 Fax No.: (052) 811-1267 E-mail:
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Publisher-Editor Edwin A. Gianan |
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Advertising- Circulation Manager Simeon G. Cueno |
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Web Master: Calgary, Canada |
Briefly Yours
By Joel Son Panti
Foot-in-mouth
victim?
The
woman cashier at Footstep shoe store here has a mouth as rough as
sandpaper. She talks as if she owns the store.
This
woman has a funny notion that the customers should be grateful to the
store, rather than the store being grateful to the customers. This woman
cashier should be told that without the customers, dai cang sisibaon!
A
lady customer last Saturday morning bought a pair of shoes and a pair of
sandals at P549.00. She gave the cashier two five-hundred paper bills.
"Dai
cang sinsilyo?," growled the woman cashier.
"Dai
tabi," said the lady customer.
"Pala
bacal-bacal ca dai ca man sana nin sinsilyo," shot back the cashier!
This
cashier should be told that it is not the duty of the customers to provide
the store with loose change. Management should fire this arrogant woman.
She does not know her function.
She
should plant camote or be a fish vendor or a jeepney barker. Ito ang bagay
sa kanya.
And
speaking of Footstep, it has not a permanent sales lady. Every after three
months or more, new sales ladies man the store. And it's open seven days a
week, including Sundays and holidays! The strategy is obvious. In order
not to pay premiums to the Social Security System, they employ sales
ladies for a few months only at the guise of giving them temporary jobs to
gain experience! This is exploitation!
Will
the Department of Labor please do somethng? Ito ang dapat imbestigahan
ninyo! At ito ang dapat kikilan ninyo!
Now,
it's final. Local El Shaddai fanatics say that Bro. Rene Velarde has
called it quits. Meaning, he decided not to run for Congress after all.
That
leaves NTC Commissioner Joseph Santiago slugging it out with no one.
Whether he runs in tandem with former Gov. Sev Alcantara or with sonn-to-be
former Congressman Jun Verceles, the Congress seat is in the bag.
He
should now throw a party and celebrate. Unless somebody stronger comes
along.
Under
this scenario, Rep. Verceles might be constrained to field his wife Natsy
to run for Congress. She is the strongest contender to the position,
although a husband-and-wife team may leave a sour taste in one's mouth.
But
previous surveys indicate that beauteous and brainy Natsy is even more
popular than husband Jun.
Consider
this: the Virac vote will be distributed, perhaps evenly, among Santiago,
Alcantara and Jun Verceles. With the entry of Natsy, the Virac vote will
become so thin when divided among four.
Let
us assume that husband-and-wife Verceles gets the smallest share in the
Virac vote pie (which is doubtful) and Santiago and Alcantara grab the
biggest portion. This setback will be overwhelmed by both San Andres and
the Viga votes, the two vote-rich towns.
But
a Velarde-Santiago political combat is definitely one-sided in favor of
Santiago. On the other hand, a Santiago-Natsy Verceles electoral battle
may not guarantee a Santiago victory.
We
had a chat with ex-governor Sev Alcantara last week and he confirmed
reports that he is on the go again in tandem with Commissioner Santiago.
However,
he said that if a Santiago-Verceles formula is achieved, he is willing to
go down to vice governor of Verceles. "This is definitely a
win-win-win situation," Alcantara said, accentuating the three wins.
And
the Grand Old Man is right. Against anybody, the team is impregnable.
But
what happens with Rudy Sarmiento, the little political giant whom Verceles
cannot go without? (A Verceles-Santiago tandem would mean support for Cito
Alberto, the man whom Ribong considers his political rabies).
"Let
him run for PBM or Mayor of Gigmoto to keep him visible," gentleman
Sev said.
But
will Rudy agree to this? If he will (which is doubtful), another problem
crops up. What happens to Vice Gov. Al Aquino, the man whose loyalty has
been tested time and again?
Perhaps,
all these questions will become moot and academic by next week or the week
after next, the period of filing of the certificate of candidacy.
Without
Velarde, people are now not talking about Sanchez's reelection bid. They
now consider him as a "nuisance" candidate.
And
that is not without basis.
Sanchez
has no solid political machinery to speak of. His political allies, and
you can count them in your fingers, have questionable characters.
Take
the case of his PBMs. Except perhaps for Fred Jr., all are contractors,
meaning they were awarded contracts for provincial projects by the
governor. In other words, they are "loyal" to Sanchez because of
the cash they generate out of the projects.
Don't
give them a single project. And they will drop Sanchez like a hot horse
dung!
On
the other hand, look at the PBMs loyal to Verceles. Not a single one has
been given a single project! Yet, they stick it out together. Of course,
like Sanchez's PBMs, they, too, were given vehicles.
But
the solid reason why Sanchez is now a considered a "nuisance"
candidate is his being without money to burn for the campaign. Will
Sanchez follow Velarde's action?
