Short-cut Way

Mayor Braulio Yaranon of Baguio City, the Philippines' summer capital in the north, is still lucky. He was suspended but was reinstated. But the suspension threat may continue to hound him and, before he would know it, it would be election season again. All his efforts of defending himself would certainly get in the way of governance so before he would know it, the former judge would find himself exhausted from all the legal battles waged by his enemies.

The saga about suspension and outright removal at the top post of the Baguio City Hall is not new. It began during the time of former mayor Jun Labo, who made Baguio’s history as the first faith healer elected as chief executive. Labo was still warming his seat when somebody complained about the newly elected mayor’s foreign citizenship. It was too bad for Labo who had the penchant of acquiring the citizenships of the foreign women he fell in love with and whom he eventually married.

And it was too bad the Comelec allowed Labo to run before some people found out that he was not a citizen of the Philippines but a citizen of the world. At that time he was an Australian citizen. Ergo, he could run for an elective position in Australia but not in the Philippine summer capital. The Comelec, however, allowed him to run as mayor and Baguio’s electorate, like the star-struck and showbiz-oriented voters elsewhere in the country, voted for the guy who was almost like a movie star.

The courts finally ruled that Labo was an alien and therefore could not continue serving as mayor. Jaime Bugnosen, the vice-mayor then, was eventually sworn in as the new mayor. That was after the 1988 elections.

In 1992 Labo ran again as mayor and won. But he was again disqualified. Mauricio Domogan, the vice-mayor then, assumed office as mayor. From then on, the former barefoot boy from Patiakan village, Quirino, Ilocos Sur began a colorful uninterrupted political career that has reached the House of Congress.

Hadn’t Labo been removed from office, Domogan’s political career may have been delayed for some years – maybe as long as nine years granting that Labo would have been voted into office for three terms.

So we have a tip for those itching to be the city’s mayor. You need not gun for the mayoralty post. Aim for vice-mayor, and who knows, you are just a breath away from your goal. In Baguio, the vice-mayoralty position is proving to be the short-cut way to a politician’s career.

As vice-mayor, you should not simply act as a spare tire. Like the girl or boy scout, you must be ever-prepared because anything could happen to the mayor.