Tabloid attacks not ruffling solon who promotes reading

BANAL on the campaign trail Contributed photo

Without intending to, Quezon City 3rd District Rep. Jorge “Bolet” Banal made headlines last year at the height of the impeachment trial of then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, where the lawmaker served in the secretariat of the House prosecution team.

A bank manager then testified that Banal met her to verify photocopies of Corona’s bank records. The whole episode thrust the congressman into the national spotlight when he was supposed to be working in the background to help build the case against the chief magistrate.

Corona, then accused of failing to make full public disclosure of his wealth, was eventually convicted by the Senate impeachment court.

“I didn’t care then what it may do to my chances of running again. Back then, I believed that I was doing my responsibility as a member of the prosecution,” the Liberal Party candidate said in retrospect.

The 51-year-old Banal is again pitted against former congressman Mat Defensor, whom he defeated in 2010. Banal was then a second-termer in the city council when he challenged the veteran Defensor.

In an Inquirer interview, Banal said he planned to continue his advocacy on education, especially the promotion of reading among school children through his “iLove2read” program. Through his efforts, for example, Congress declared  Nov. 27 as “Araw ng Pagbasa (Day of Reading).”

But victory did not come easy for him in 2010. Banal recalled the mudslinging that played out in some tabloids days before the elections, when he was accused of colluding with then Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista in passing a council resolution that allowed a drug rehabilitation facility to enter into a contract with catering companies in 2008.

The reports came out just weeks before the 2010 elections, giving him just enough time to deny the allegations. The intrigues apparently fizzled out as he eventually won the House seat.

But Banal said the same thing was happening all over again, this time over one of his educational programs which dated back to his years as councilor. A group of residents earlier filed a complaint in the Commission on Elections saying the program, which issues gift vouchers to beneficiaries, was tantamount to vote buying.

The complaint was later withdrawn, he said, after it was revealed that the residents were simply made to sign the complaint without knowing that it was intended against the congressman.

Nevertheless, Banal argued that the vouchers being questioned by the supposed complaint were distributed to over 52,000 students in 10 elementary and seven high schools in the district during the first week of March, or way before the start of the campaign season in April.

“I am actually glad that my opponents chose this issue against me, because this is something I can defend,” Banal said.

Aside from education, Banal’s congressional stint gave rise to other projects in the district, from livelihood programs and medical assistance, to equipment donations to police stations and village security officers.

According to his office, a partial list of his projects in the last three years include the following: three footbridges, nine rehabilitated school buildings, 10 renovated barangay buildings, 11 new school buildings, 14 new multipurpose buildings, 15 newly paved roads, 16 flood control projects, 22 additional trial courts, 22 L300 vans for barangays, 400 persons given jobs at different government agencies; 500 bed capacity at Quirino Memorial Medical Center, 800 handcuffs for the police and barangay tanod, 2,600 recipients of burial assistance, and 3,423 recipients of free eyeglasses, among others.

“I want to help in pushing for reforms and I believe I can do it as a lawmaker if I run again,” Banal said.

On a lighter note, he admitted that the campaign, “especially in this heat,” had been physically taxing: his cheeks had thinned out, leaving him with a gaunt look. “It’s really exhausting to do house-to-house campaigns, but it must be done.”

That’s why after the elections, the next item on his agenda would be to regain weight and get back into shape. “I want to get those eight pounds back.”