Whether or not there was sufficient ground for caretaker mayor and regional director Pedro Noval Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to declare a red alert in Compostela town can be explained away by the short-lived takeover by Mayor-elect Joel Quiño and his council-elect of the municipal hall.
While Quiño was convinced by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to yield until the Commission on Elections (Comelec) rule on the petition filed against him and the council by his rival Ritchie Wagas, it was Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI of Cebu’s 5th district who was instrumental in resolving the tense takeover situation in Compostela.
The open secret that it was the Duranos who somehow influenced Quiño and his council to initiate the takeover attempt can be gleaned in last week’s press release which castigated the Comelec anew for their slow pace in resolving the election dispute between Quiño and Wagas.
Regardless of their position on the election dispute, the Duranos and their allies can holler all they want but for now cannot dictate how the municipal government of Compostela is being run even if the caretaker mayor sees it fit to declare a red alert.
A red alert status doesn’t deprive ordinary residents of freedom of movement unlike a state of local emergency—martial law certainly out of the question being a relic of the past particularly under a presidency whose leader has seen what it did to his family—and the security covered only the municipal hall, which had additional police personnel.
The bone of contention lies in the no-permit, no-rally policy enforced by Noval. Quiño’s followers protested that it deprives them of their freedom of expression and right to redress. Again, that policy came about as a result of last May 11’s takeover attempt.
As far as we can tell, Noval isn’t exactly enjoying his stay as caretaker mayor, forcing him to shuttle time between municipal hall and the DILG-7 office in Cebu City.
And there has been movement in the case after the Comelec agreed to do the recanvassing of votes in Compostela.
Followers of both Quiño and Wagas can only wait in frustrated silence for Comelec to rule on their dispute which the agency should do so with dispatch. It was the Comelec’s fault since their ruling affected not only Quiño, but the council who could have passed a budget for this year instead of an old one that denied Compostela residents additional programs and services.
It’s a long wait, but Compostela residents need not be burdened by a political stalemate similar to the Tudela town political crisis which saw two mayors slugging it out for control to the detriment of their constituents.