It was vindication for the most part when Compostela Mayor Joel Quiño, Vice Mayor Mary Antonette Dagoy and the councilors were proclaimed winners last Tuesday, nearly two years after the elections.
But last Wednesday’s banner story titled “Bittersweet” aptly described Quiño’s official confirmation as his brother Engr. Concordio Quiño died not long after the Special Board of Canvassers ended its special recount of votes that showed him winning over his rival former mayor Ritchie Wagas by a hairline slim, yet decisive 3,000-plus votes.
It wasn’t the first time death visited the Quiño family during an election incident. The mayor’s councilor brother died in 2010. Their deaths may have been aggravated by the 2010 election protest that resulted in the political anomaly that is a local government unit with no mayor, vice mayor and council.
But the death of the mayor’s brother merely highlighted in no small measure the cost of Quiño’s victory that came after a protracted dispute that could have been resolved at the most within a year after the election protest was filed.
Quiño and the rest of his team have a little over a year to enact their own development programs. He started off by asking a special audit from the Commission on Audit (COA) on the town’s finances.
Most likely, the audit will be used as Quiño’s springboard for reelection next year, particularly against his perceived close rival Wagas. It’s still a few months off but this early, the Commission on Elections needs to be reminded anew about the costs of delaying the resolution of election cases in the country.
Cebu alone witnessed in recent years two cases of leadership vacuums, one in Camotes Island and in Compostela town in 2010. The 2010 election is especially significant since it is the first actual automated elections in the country and yet, this didn’t deter Wagas from claiming that he was cheated.
His election protest denied his former constituents an actual working government and they had to content themselves with regional directors from the Department of Interior and Local Governments who were forced to act as caretakers while maintaining their day jobs.
Now that they’re in office, Compostela residents hope that Quiño makes good on his promise to ensure the delivery of services especially on health and sanitation, roads and so on.
At least, Quiño set the right tone when he called on followers to forget the acrimony against Wagas and the lost time in his three-year-term and simply focus on the job at hand.
There won’t be any dramatic, high impact projects owing to a reenacted budget but Compostela residents are realistic enough not to expect miracles from Quiño and his camp. The mayor can take it from there and set about serving his constituents, even if it’s only one small step at a time.