By Herbert Vego
TWO months ago, this corner predicted the break-up of the “uniteam” of Antique due to the brewing personal differences between Governor Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao and Senator Loren Legarda.
It is now a “given” that the outgoing governor and the incumbent congressman, Agapito Antonio “AA” Legarda – the brother of Loren — may only keep their alliance by swapping positions to run for in 2025.
But it is not meant to be because AA would rather run for re-election while the “graduating” governor has no choice but to fight him.
Is it true that Loren is not inclined to intervene? That she would rather see Dodod out of Antique’s politics?
“Sadya dya!” I heard their followers exclaim. “Mauran ang kwarta sa 2025.”
Blessed are the poor, who have no choice but to get their money.
Dodod must be biting her nails for having partnered with AA, a stranger from Malabon, rather than with a “tumandok,” Atty. Ade Fajardo, in 2022.
The Dodod-Loren split, our sources say, would spill over to their choices of running mates, depending on “intervenors above”. For example, while Vice-Governor Ed Denosta has been bandied around as Cadiao’s partner/candidate for governor in 2025, somebody from Malacañang allegedly wants former Pandan mayor Jonathan Tan instead.
Protégé daw siya ni BBM?
On the other side, it’s former congressman Paolo Javier — no longer former Valderrama mayor Ray Roquero — who would run for governor in tandem with re-electionist Congressman AA Legarda.
If it’s true that Javier is a protégé of the First Lady, nami eh. Whoever wins, Malacañang also wins.
How would the “scorned” Denosta and Roquero react?
I guess the two would still run independently, which would result in a four-cornered gubernatorial fight.
Oh, well, Ed and Ray, pray that the equation is not final yet.
-oOo-
APPRAISING BBM’S AUSTRALIAN VISIT
WHILE the speech of President Marcos before the Australian Parliament in Canberra has brought global mileage favorable to the Philippines, Australian Senator Janet Rice stole the show by displaying a placard saying, “Stop the human rights abuses.”
There were three other senators who expressed the same sentiment outside of the parliament — Senators Jordon Steele-John, Barbara Pocock and David Shoebridge. They boycotted Marcos’ speech.
Anyway, their action must have influenced the junior Macoy to depart from the pro-China direction of his predecessor who had expressed a wish for our country to slide down as a mere “province of China.”
As he said in another speech at the Lowy Institute, “Our independent foreign policy compels us to cooperate with them [the Chinese] on matters where our interests align, to respectfully disagree on areas where our views differ, and to push back when our sworn principles, such as our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and our jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea — are questioned or ignored,”
China’s provocative and illegal actions despite an international arbitral ruling invalidating its massive nine-dash-line claim over the South China Sea have alerted Australia, the United States, the European Union and Japan to ensure financial and military aid for our self-defense.
That must have deterred China from doing more than harassing our coast guards and fishermen at the West Philippine Sea.
-oOo-
LISTEN TO ENERGY EXPERTS, NOT ONLINE ADS
IT’S shocking that government agencies like the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Trade and Technology (DTI) have remained tolerant of sellers of fake “power savers”.
In January this year, this corner echoed the warning of Engr. Bailey del Castillo, vice-president for Network Development and Operations of MORE Power, Iloilo City’s power-distribution utility. He said, “When that device surfaced eight years ago, online platforms were not yet prevalent,” he said, “But the device was gaining popularity, nevertheless. So, we purchased five units, each with a different brand, for comprehensive testing. Unfortunately, none of them showed any savings in energy consumption.”
In Manila, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has repeatedly issued statements hitting “altered” ads where celebrities endorse their products on TV. On the contrary, the use of this device can increase power consumption.
“The DOE has yet to find an energy-saving device that can satisfy its claim for efficiency,” the news agency Rappler quoted a Meralco official.
So, if you see a spliced TV interview showing a celebrity say “epektibo,” what he actually said was “hindi epektibo”.
Hindi pa tayo natuto?
