What is evolving in local politics in Davao City? After First District Councilor Dr. Bernie Al-ag called the inclusion of P354 million allocation in the over 2 billion pesos Supplemental Budget No. 1 as “excessive” and eventually voted NO in the additional appropriation for this year, a third district councilor called his statement “reckless and irresponsible” as well as having no basis.
Days later City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte called Al-ag “Nagpapansin lang ‘yan.” Looks like the dentist councilor is being slowly edged out of the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod local political party.
What is causing all of these seeming parting of ways? Has Bernie Al-ag done something detrimental to the party or to anyone who calls the shot in the political organization? If that is the case then Dr. Bernie will eventually find himself running independent or with any group that will oppose the incumbent local administration, should there be any.
Of course, even if that will happen to Dr. Bernie his performance in the council and his political base cannot be underestimated.
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As we have mentioned at least two or three times in this space, the camp of beleaguered Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church (KOJC) Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy could have easily sought the intervention of the courts. That is, if the Church leader’s legal team really wanted to obviate any potential damage to properties and injuries to its members with the apparently forceful serving of the warrants of arrest on the fugitive Pastor. The Police Region XI head Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III believe, the Pastor is hiding in some bunkers inside the compound of the Church main headquarters.
When the law enforcers numbering between ,500 to 2,000, entered the KOJC compound along C. P. Garcia Diversion Highway they were also initially blocked by a multitude of KOJC followers who were dead set to prevent the policemen from getting inside the compound.
From then on the sect’s well-known personalities, more specifically the Pastor’s lead lawyer mouthed and pictured the policemen whatever there was that could help legitimize their claims of use of excessive force, trampling of the members rights, doing searches despite the absence of a search warrant, and literal take-over of the entire compound, among others.
Meanwhile, many legal experts in their post on Facebook sort of suggested to the legal team that it they want justice for the Pastor-in-hiding, there are still a number of legal remedies they can resort to. But they refuse and allowed the policemen to do their thing until the other day when the team ran to the court to secure a “Temporary Protection Order (TPO).
Of course it is easy for them to reason out that from the time the policemen descended on the KOJC main headquarters up to last Monday there was no office and the courts were not available for them to seek the needed remedy.
While it may be so and the non-working days seem to restrain the Pastor’s camp from securing the court’s intervention, our take is that the situation could be one welcome development for the Pastor’s defenders.
Yes, they were able to exploit the various police activities to work in their leader-founder’s favor. What the Torre-led “take-over” of the Church compound and all the things they did supposedly to find the elusive Pastor gave the religious leader and his Church the image of the “victim” in what his supporters and followers claim as “persecution.”
In other words, chances are his image as “victim” could have gained him sympathy and understanding of his choice to continuously dodge the law.
Unfortunately however, while the well-orchestrated “pa victim” effect of the KOJC members’ responses to the police “overkill” warrants service may have earned their desired sympathy, some top officials of the KOJC are also doing contrasting moves that are likely not helping the Pastor’s cause.
Imagine the KOJC Secretary General calling on the religious group’s claimed 8 million members nationwide to go to Manila, converge somewhere and proceed to “storm” Malacanang to force the ouster of the President!
And imagine further the call of KOJC leaders to fellow Davaoenos to go to the Church headquarters and join them to start a “People Power”!
The earlier call by the KOJC Secretary General appears to be bordering to sedition and even inciting to rebellion. The latter call, though, may possibly generate a number of people that can be considered enough for a “People Power”.
However, it would just be an exercise in futility if the same is to make good its objective of driving the President out from Malacanang which is several hundreds of kilometers away from Davao City. Unless of course they have the support of large businesses that will be willing to provide the resources – financial and transportation – in moving the multitude of people from Davao to the National Capital Region.
From the looks of it though, the country’s leading businessmen and even militant groups and civil societies appear “contented” with the present governance that they are skeptical of the KOJC call for them to join a “People Power.”
Meaning, the reason/s advanced by the “initiators” are not convincing enough.
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