Medellin mayor gripes over priest’s victory

MEDELLIN Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said he was dismayed over the victory of Fr. Oscar Banzon in Monday’s barangay elections where the suspended priest defeated the incumbent barangay chairman, who was the mayor’s ally in barangay Kawit.

“Sa tanan barangay, Kawit pa gyud ang napildi. Mas musugot pa siguro ko kung sa uban barangay,” (Of all the barangays in Medellin, it’s in Kawit where we lost. I would have accepted the defeat if it were in another barangay.) “But let it be, that’s the decision of the people. We will respect that,” said Ramirez, who considers the priest a “former friend.”

Official results show Banzon garnering 1,210 votes against incumbent barangay chairman Charito Areglado with 1,127 votes or a margin of 83 votes. (It was earlier reported here that the margin was 79 votes.)

Ramirez said pro-administration barangay captains clinched the seats in 18 of Medellin’s 19 barangays.

The seaside barangay of Kawit with 15 sitios and more than 4,355 registered voters is the biggest barangay in the sugarcane-producing town.

Ramirez earlier said he “lost his respect for Banzon” when the priest decided to run for office even as the mayor lamented the “scandal” over the cleric’s open relationship with a local woman.

The mayor said the political bid “destroyed a lot of relationships,” especially the mayor’s close ties with the familly of Venus Atienza, a former councilwoman of Kawit and Banzon’s girlfriend.

Fr. Banzon confirmed their now-hostile relations and said he decided to run because of the mayor’s “tendency to dictate affairs of the barangay.”

Fr. Banzon was suspended by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma from his priestly duties like saying Mass or administering other sacraments of the Catholic Church after the priest filed his certificate of candidacy.

Under the canon law, clerics are prohibited from holding public office or joining political parties.

Helpful man

Meanwhile, a close friend of Banzon attested to the “goodness of Kawit’s new barangay captain”, citing his generosity to people around him.

Pheo Horteza, whose wife is newly elected Kawit councilwoman Flor Horteza, told Cebu Daily News that Banzon would give help or lend money to people in need.

Flor is one of the three councilors under “Team Padre” who won alongside Banzon in last Monday’s polls. Her husband Pheo is Borbon town’s municipal assessor.

The couple became friends with Banzon when they signed up as members of Couples for Christ, which Banzon organized as Kawit’s parish priest from 1995 to 2001.

He said they saw Banzon as a “righteous” man, which convinced Flor to join the priest’s slate of candidates.

Horteza said Banzon’s ability to run a parish that covered seven barangays convinced them he was capable of governing Kawit.

“I don’t think there is a law which prohibits an engineer, teacher or priest to serve as a barangay captain. His candidacy is just right,” he said.

“Basta kana si Father, buotan na. Hilig na siya ug basketball ug dagan taga buntag (Father is a good guy. He likes to play basketball and jog in the mornings),” Horteza said.

The government assessor described Banzon’s relationship with Atienza as an “old issue,” and said most residents know about it. That’s already public knowledge,” he said.

Asked about Mayor Ramirez’s criticism that the priest regularly goes to cockfights, gambles, and joins drinking sessions, Horteza would only say that the priest sometimes places bets at the cockpit.

But he denied that Banzon is engaged in gambling and frequent drinking sprees in the neighborhood. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos