In-fighting within Agusan’s Plaza political dynasty heats up

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur, Philippines—With just more than a week before the local campaign period starts, the bitter rivalry among the siblings of the long-running Plaza political dynasty in this province has heated up in public gatherings.

Former three-term Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza, who is on the comeback trail  in the second congressional district, fired the first salvo when he openly lambasted in village meetings  his younger brother, the incumbent Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza, for alleged multi-million anomalies and mismanagement of the provincial government.

The Plaza family, which has dominated politics in the province for almost half a century, has broken up into two factions, with Rodolfo siding with younger brother Victor, an incumbent provincial board member who is running for vice governor, while Adolph Edward, who is seeking reelection, is with his two sisters, Ma. Valentina and Evelyn Plaza Mellana, who are also seeking reelection  in the first and second congressional districts, respectively.

Former Mayor Dicken Otero of Santa Josefa, a partymate of Rodolfo, is challenging  Adolph Edward’s reelection bid.

Rodolfo’s camp, which coalesced with former two-term congressman Ceferino Paredes Jr., a long-time political rival of the Plaza clan, has allied himself with both the ruling Liberal Party and the United Nationalist Alliance while Governor Plaza, who was a close ally of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has thrown his lot with the obscure National Unity Party.

In one of the meetings early this week, residents of this town were surprised to listen to Rodolfo’s litany of exposés  on overspending during the annual Naliyagan Festival and close to a billion pesos in unliquidated cash advances of the provincial government in the last ten years under the administrations of Adolph Edward and Maria Valentina.

He said Agusan del Sur was still one of the poorest provinces in the country yet the provincial government had the gall to spend over P40 million during Naliyagan Festival burning P1 million every night in fireworks displays for seven days while the adjacent expansion project of D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital remained unfinished despite the passing of three years.

Adolph Edward’s camp has remained mum over Rodolfo’s tirades but block-time radio commentators have also started drumbeating the achievements of the incumbent Plaza siblings while at some time taking pot-shots at  Rodolfo.

“Is this the kind of public service? Is this the seal of good governance? The people in the province continue to be poor,” Plaza said in his speech to the amazement of the crowd.

“It took a Plaza to expose the venalities of the provincial government while many people are afraid to talk about it,” said a concerned resident.

“If we parted ways, it is strictly because of principle since I can no longer take it anymore,” Rodolfo said, referring to his allegations of anomalies, including P852 million in unliquidated cash advances during Adolph Edward’s many years as governor.