‘Giant killer’ vows to be nearer to town people

Going up against a political giant wasn’t easy.

But Congressman-elect Wilfredo Caminero of Cebu’s second district pulled off a surprise when he defeated Deputy House Speaker Pablo Garcia in the May polls.

While he’s considered as the “giant killer of Cebu”, Caminero believes that it was his hard work that made the difference.

“It was really difficult to defeat Noy Pabling because of his political network and machinery. But I was able to do it because of my endurance. I don’t feel tired crossing the entire district. Even the farmers saw me personally and realized that my vision is different from that of the incumbent congressman,” he said in Cebuano.

visible

Caminero, who is a member the Liberal Party, vowed to be continuously visible in his district even if the elections are over.

“My work is here and not at the House of Representatives. Let’s just give the Congress to those who don’t have anything to do in their respective districts,” he said.

“Some lawmakers say they are not visible in their districts because they work in Congress. I don’t believe in that. Expect me to visit you every now and then,” he told about a hundred of people gathered at Coal Mountain Resort, his family’s rest house in the mountain barangay of Linut-od in Argao town, southern Cebu.

With his family behind him, Caminero took his oath of office before Linut-od barangay captain Paz Caminse yesterday morning.

The place where he was sworn in was situated halfway up the mountain, 23 kilometers away from the national road of his hometown in Argao.

Caminero, who used to be a farmer, said he wanted to get closer to the people near to his heart.

He said if he wanted to take his oath at the town plaza, then the people from the mountans wouldn’t be able to get near him.

Present during the event were: Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, Mayors Raymund Calderon of Samboan, Edsel Galeos of Argao, Marilyn Wenceslao of Santander, Marlo de Rama of Boljoon as well as Vice Mayors Wilson Wenceslao of Santander and Stanley Caminero.

divide district plan

Caminero also told reporters that he would make good his campaign promise to push for the division of Cebu’s second district into two districts.

Garcia, who used to be Caminero’s political ally, earlier filed a bill to create another congressional district out of the second district.

He and Garcia both agreed that the second district is too big and that it is not fair to spend the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for projects in a district with several municipalities while other congressmen have fewer localities.