AT THIS point in time of the election campaign period, political observers are still not likely to give Karlo Nograles even a chance of winning against behemoth former long-time mayor of Davao City and immediate past president of the country Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Yes, Duterte who could be overly exhausted when he ended up his 6-year term, decided to come down from his pedestal-like seat having reached the highest elective position of the Presidency, possibly for fear that his son Baste Duterte, may end up defeated by the young Nograles scion. And the recent arrest of Duterte and his immediate transport to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands further put the former President and Hugpong Mayoral candidate, in a more enviable status as come backing mayoral aspirant.
Personally though, we have observed that candidate Karlo seems unaffected. Instead he is seen adopting more positive means of campaigning even avoiding head-on attack on the misfortune of the Davaoeño former President.
What we have seen and heard from Karlo in the campaign trail are his positive approaches on the various issues prevailing in Davao City. Instead of building his campaign infrastructure on the apparent weak areas of Duterte’s governance in the city Karlo builds the foundation of his campaign right on the status of the programs of the Dutertes while they are in full control.
Like in the case of the seat of power of Davao City – the City Hall. While Nograles admits that being the largest city in the entire country, coming to City Hall, the city’s seat of power, is difficult for many especially the highlanders. He knows that a huge number of Davaoeños may not have even seen the City Hall building.
And why is this situation prevailing? It is because City Hall is so distant to some residents in the highland communities. In fact there are even constituents who might not have any way of imagining how City Hall looks like..
Thus, Karlo’s commitment to have a City Hall every Davaoeño can see. How is the young Nograles planning to make this possible? Well, in his platform he says, for those who cannot afford to come down to the City’s downtown because of either distance or lack of resources or non-availability of means to travel Karlo intends to institutionalize the bringing of government services to where these are needed most. And where possible, financially and geographically, his government will put up satellite offices where local government services are easily accessible.
Nograles also committed to be proactive in bringing relevant information to the people all over the city and make his administration active listener to their voices as these are sources of important inputs for effective decision-making.
To realize this commitment the youthful administration mayoral candidate is set to establish all the necessary means for connectivity between and among the offices and the people they are sworn to serve.
And the end of it all is Karlo’s intention to have a Davao City Hall that everyone can feel through development projects that matter to every Davaoeño in the present generation and those who will come after.
Clearly though Karlo simply lifts off from areas of government services where the Duterte administration starting from the Patriarch up to the terms of his daughter then Mayor and now Vice President Sara, and to his youngest son Baste, the incumbent mayor but now a candidate for Vice Mayor to his father, appeared to have peaked.
The youthful candidate, we noted, did not find faults in all of the Dutertes’ administrations. Instead Karlo leaves it to the Davaoeños to validate for themselves whether he is right in pinpointing areas where to offer enhancement.
The question now is whether or not the Davaoeño electorate will agree with him in his perception of the governance of the Dutertes, as well as the means he intends to use in instituting enhancements or introducing his proposed changes.
For certain we will know the answer after the last ballot for local elective officials is counted and the winner for the city’s top position is officially proclaimed.
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