Best wishes from Gov. Pineda to wannabes calling on her. PHOTO BY BONG LACSON
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Candidates in the barangay polls flocking to the Capitol here better disabuse their minds. All that they can get from the governor is a good luck wish. “Mikakabalu nako man king baryu, oba’t kailangan yu pang gumastus. Balu dang kalulu ka, tapus papalwal kang dakal a pera, mipakarok ko pa.
(Everybody knows everybody in the barrio, why still need to spend. They know you are poor and yet you spend a lot, that will work against you),” Gov. Lilia G. Pineda last Monday told an assembly of callers from different barangays in different towns all seeking her personal endorsement and the hoped-for funds expected with it.
“Serbisyu karing memaryu ing dapat panuntunan a iyapag yu karela, ali pera (Service to the people is what you should offer them, not money),” Pineda said. “Nung ninu ing peka- malugud, magmalasakit, maserbisyu kareng tau, ita ing dapat manungkulan (Whoever is most loving, most caring and most serving to the people is most deserving of the office).”
Asked if she has endorsed anyone in the wake of reports of her photograph being printed in tarpaulins with those of prospective candidates, the governor said she would not prevent anyone from using her photograph in their posters.
“Nung gagamitan de ing litratu ku, di gamitan ya naman. Pare-parehu na ko man kanaku (If they use my picture, do the same. You are all equal before me),” she said.
The governor said she would “abide strictly and fully to the non-partisan nature of barangay elections” and would not endorse any candidate. This, even as she cautioned all candidates to refrain from personal attacks and heated discussions “to keep peace and order in the campaign, in the elections, and in the aftermath.”
“Nanu mang malyari, mibaryu-baryu ta pa mu rin, any dapat mung in katahimikan ampon progresu ning kekatamung balayan ing mumuna tamung isipan king nanu mang gawan (Whatever happens, we still live with one another so it is the peace and progress of our community that must be foremost in our minds, in whatever we do),” the governor told her visitors who asked her for photo opportunities before they left.
Waves of prospective candidates for barangay captain and their tickets reportedly now outnumber charity seekers at the Capitol.
