SINCE the turnover of the city’s mayoralty from Nene Pimentel to Ambing Magtajas 38 years ago (in 1984), Cagayan de Oro is again witnessing a smooth turn-over of leadership at City Hall as Mayor Oscar ‘Oca’ Moreno hands over the baton to 1st district Congressman Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy on June 30, 2022.
In his valedictory address on the 72nd founding anniversary of the city, last June 15, Mayor Moreno honored the City Hall bureaucracy for the successes of his administration; thanked political allies; harped on the need for unity and teamwork at the City Hall; and rallied the people of Cagayan de Oro City to support Klarex Uy.
The majority in a democracy he said gets what it wants at the of the day, but the opposition need not be excluded from successful governance because fiscalizing is an integral part of democratic decision-making.
It was an admonition to the new set of political leaders against repeating the experience of having a counter-productive and “contrarian” City Council in his first term (2013- 2016).
Mayor Oca Moreno is a technocrat who wants to get things done, even if it means losing political points. Incoming Mayor Klarex Uy on the other hand is a populist, who values personal relationships. Like Oca, Klarex is an overachiever, albeit shy to a fault in getting credit for the projects he has done.
Oca leaves a legacy of empowering the bureaucracy, huge investments in health, education, and social services, and an array of awards. Both Oca and Klarex paved hundreds of kilometers of farm-to-market roads even in the most far-flung barangays of the city’s 1st district.
Indubitably, if you look at the score sheet, Klarex has large shoes to fill when he takes over City Hall, the noontime of June 30.
Without a doubt though, Klarex has what it takes to ensure continuity of the services and projects left behind by Oca ― like sustaining the growth and modernization of the JR Borja Hospital, managing two new hospitals in Tablon and Lumbia; seeing to it that the hundreds of classrooms built during the administration of Oca would be maintained, improved and increased, so on and so forth.
Klarex also needs to address some loose ends, like traffic management, with the Roads and Traffic Administration now seemingly focused on enforcement rather than doing its primary mandate of ensuring smooth traffic flow. Klarex may also need to tackle the bull by its horns when it comes to solving the city’s water woes.
For now, Klarex has to be judicious, careful, and fair in choosing the heads of City Hall departments.
In his speech Wednesday, Oca recalled how he dealt with a city administrator who was vindictive, replacing even competent City Hall officers based on perceived political loyalties.
But, it does not help that Klarex faces a recalcitrant local political opposition. During their proclamation last May 11, elected 1st district congressman Lordan Suan was heard saying “We are back.”
I took that statement to mean that the ‘violets’ or the PaDayon Pilipino party of the Emanos are back at the helm of the city’s political landscape. Suan’s statement was of course his perception, an overstatement, but could also be a portent of things to come.
While Klarex may have the super majority in the City Council, the vice mayoralty is held by the local opposition, Jocelyn Rodriguez, younger sister of 2nd district Cong. Rufus Rodriguez and Suan defeated Vice Mayor Kikang in the 1st district’s congressional race.
Klarex may have 10 elected councilors as his allies out of the 16, and the two ex officios Alam Lim of the Association of Barangay Council and John Michael Seno of the Sangguniang Kabataan.
Note however that an Emano (Yvy) has the most votes in district 2 and another Suan (Aga) in the 1st district. And, of the ten allies of Klarex, seven are graduating in 2025 ― leaving only Roger Abaday, Girlie Balaba, and Imee Moreno for re-election. For the ex officios, it depends on the results of the Barangay and SK elections, which by law are set for later this year.
It is thus hoped, that Klarex nips in the bud rent-seeker positioning for juicy and powerful positions at City Hall. And just like in the early years of the Moreno administration, would rock the boat, and eventually abandon him.
The way Klarex runs the City Government needs to be an antithesis to Suan’s “We are back!”
Note: While Mayor Constantino Jaraula (2007-2010) was an ally of his predecessor Dongkoy Emano, he was perceived to be a placeholder. Validated by his decision not to run for re-election in 2010 at the behest of the late Emano.
