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CAGAYAN, Philippines – On the day he was sworn in as the new provincial chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Cagayan governor Manuel Mamba slammed his former party and the administration he once served.
In a press briefing on Friday, November 17, Mamba said the Aquino administration did not deliver on his “expectations” for the province, especially in kicking out his political nemesis.
Mamba, who was the former regional chairman of the Liberal Party (LP) in Cagayan Valley in the 2016 elections, said he kept asking the administration of Aquino to address corruption, rampant illegal gambling, and black sand mining in Cagayan, but to no avail.
He said it was “impressive” that these problems were addressed during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The truth is, I don’t even know Duterte. Iyong inaasahan kong dapat mangyari sa Cagayan, siya ang nakagawa eh (He was the one who delivered on the things that I wanted to happen in Cagayan),” Mamba said.
He said he just kept quiet when he was in the cabinet of then President Benigno Aquino III “because of the presence of vested interests.” Mamba headed the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) during the previous administration.
Mamba said he had also asked Aquino to remove the administration of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) from Jose Mari Ponce, but it was never granted.
He had been one of the staunchest critics of CEZA, saying “all the foolishness” was happening under the agency.
Duterte replaced Ponce with Raul Lambino, a lawyer of former president now Pampanga 2nd Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“I kept quiet because ‘yung vested interest na nandoon. Hindi ko kaya, baka ako ‘yung sipain. So I just waited. Through one and a half years, kita ninyo naman, dati monopoly ‘yang CEZA, ngayon nawala na,” Mamba said.
(I kept quiet because of the vested interest that was there. I could not do anything, I might be kicked out as a result. So I just waited. In one and a half years, as you’ve seen, CEZA used to be a monopoly but now it’s gone.)
‘Zero vote for Mar in 2019’
One and a half years after the last elections, Mamba apparently still harbored some resentment towards Manuel Roxas II, the LP’s 2016 presidential bet, who, he said, had “betrayed” him.
A visibly angry Mamba recalled that Roxas’ wife, Korina Sanchez, and Quezon City 6th District Representative Kit Belmonte, an LP stalwart, had “talks” with his two opponents in the gubernatorial race.
“Saka alam ‘nyo ‘yung nangyari sa akin noong election, kung paano ako tinraydor. Ako, you treat me the way I should treat you. Kung hindi ako magtraydor sa ‘yo, huwag mo akong traydorin. Wala pang president na trinaydor ako,” he said.
He added that Roxas will receive “zero” vote from Mamba’s hometown, Tuao, if Roxas would run for senator in 2019.
“Kaya nga nagpasabi si Mar sa akin na tatakbo raw siyang senador. Sabihin ninyo sa kanya ah, zero siya sa Tuao (Mar sent word to me that he would run for senator. Tell him, he will get zero in Tuao)….Just to tell him never treat people who are good and loyal to you the way you treat me in the last election,” Mamba said.
In the 2016 president elections, Roxas got an overwhelming 14,508 votes in Mamba’s town, followed by former Vice President Jejomar Binay with 4,799 votes. – Rappler.com
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