Gov. Mercado, unknowns file CoCs
By Jani Arnaiz
Gov. Damian Mercado being interviewed after filing his COC. Photo by Jani Arnaiz
December 1, 2009
MAASIN CITY – Relatively unknown candidates filed their CoCs on Sunday at the provincial Comelec office while incumbent governor Damian Mercado formalized his reelection bid as governor of Southern Leyte.
Brothers Jeffrey Jaraba Roden, 31 and Jerome Jaraba Roden, 33 filed as independent congressman and governor respectively, The younger Roden claimed in his COC as PSE trader while his brother, a legal researcher.
Another unknown, Ruel Dumancas filed as vice governor also on Sunday.
Governor Mercado filed his COC as Lakas-Kampi-CMD governor on Monday at 8:47 in the morning accompanied by his brother lone district Rep. Roger Mercado, supporters and his board members, who will file their own COCs Monday afternoon.
The governor was the seventh candidate in the province to have filed their COCs after his brother, who filed on Saturday.
The other candidates who have filed were former OIC governor Gaspar Tagalo as independent board member and Iñigo Costillas, a physician, who also filed on Sunday as board member under NPC banner.
Former Governor Rosette Lerias is expected to file her candidacy as mayor at 3:00 in the afternoon.
Gov. Mercado in an interview with local media who were wearing black armed band, said he has 17 incumbent mayors out 19 municipalities and a city in the province.
Mercado also disclosed his elation that his bet for president, Gilbert Teodoro is already rating. “I was told by my colleagues in the party that Gibo has increased his ratings in a survey,” he said adding “I don’t know if its true but according to them Gibo is already 50 percent in an LGU survey.”
He added that he was happy how Gibo handled the Maguindanao massacre.
Mercados in Southern Leyte have done nothing as far as economic situation of the province is concerned. ENOUGH FOR MERCADOS!..Nakakahiya kayo!..Southern Leyteno should wake up! Enough for this traditional politicians!..
When you study to earn a degree in Jourmalism or Mass Communication, you have to learn the Ethics of Journalism before you can graduate. You cannot just accuse, brand, broadcast, dishonor, label falsely, print, report, televise or write about anybody or public official subjectively without sufficient proofs. Be careful. You could be sued in the courts of law!
Just the past 3 years of infrastructures and constructions in Southern Leyte, any good journalist or reporter will surely notice the new ferry terminal in Benit, San Ricardo, the Maasin City Public Market, street widening in downtown Maasin, Agas-Agas Bridge, complete concreting of the roads and bridges from Maasin City to Silago which connects up to Abuyog, and the complete concreting of the roads and bridges from Liloan to San Ricardo in Panaon island. Perhaps there are few more economic developments which this writer did not see when he went on vacation from another country to Southern Leyte last December 2008 and January 2009. The Agas-Agas Bridge alone costs over one billion pesos, and has turned into tourists’ attraction! The concrete bridge is necessary for hundreds of daily passengers, motorists and truck drivers (carrying foods, clothings, households, goods and other products) that are traveling from northern Leyte to Southern Leyte, from Luzon to Mindanao and vice versa.
To a concerned citizen, you are not a credible reporter or journalist, but another big liar!
If Southern Leyte has really progressed during their term (Mercado), why Southern eytenos (most of them) have to go to Manila or Cebu just to find employment? Our province can not provide employment to our briliant and capable human resources. If these politicians really care for our people, they must provide employement by inviting investors to invest in our province.
If you read the online news or the newspapers and watch the CNN, BBC, TFC, and other TV channels, you will learn that in the United Kingdom, United States, and many other countries in the First World, there are millions of unemployed people too!
I just hope and pray that someday Southern Leyte would have new leaders that would truly care and serve our people, and we deserve it. ENOUGH for these politicians who are just enriching themeselves…
They of course have to find lots of money to finance their campaigns to get elected and/or re-elected. If you vote for politicians with less money, they cannot help you find jobs because the private companies (whether owned by the business persons who turned into politics or by their relatives and friends) contribute thousands to millions of pesos to the politicians so as to get elected in the first place.
If you are tired of the Filipino style of government, why don’t you immigrate to Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland? They have the best economy, government with less defense or military spending, and are very pro-environment. They encourage their citizens to ride bicycles than their cars because they voted not to have many parking lots. On the other hand, they have the highest standards of living in the world. However, they have to pay over 60% of their income tax!
The government does not create jobs or employment. The job creators are the priviate establishments, groups, organizations and individuals.
If you are a religious person, you simply cannot serve both God and riches or the world around you at the same time. You have to chose which one you really want to serve the rest of your lifetime.
You can live, work and have all of your basic needs provided for everyday including those of your family. How? Join the Hutterian Brethren, Amish, some of the Mennonites and other self-sufficient communities. But, you have to keep away from being involved with the world’s politics, government, military, society, the materialistic existence.
to Millennium:
you are Mercados’ press secretary, SHAME ON YOU!..it is the governement’s responsibility to create jobs by inviting investors to invest in the province, but these politicians do not invite because they want to protect their own businesses…
i hope so.leytenos realized that we need a changed of leadership in the province.
vote wisely .
Southern Leytenos should vote wisely! We should change all leaders who are corrupt, and dont really have the heart to uplift the living condition of the people in Southern Leyte.
millenium
i might visit those scandinavian countries you mention but will not move there.
stop telling us what to do or where to go.
we are pretty much very capable of deciding those stuff for ourself.
salamat
way to go maasinhons
Yes!! Maasinhons are here to fight what is right and tell nothing but the truth. To those other maasinhons who have been fighting for the truth to come out,, don’t be scared to post it here.
I’d like to thank the Arnaiz family for having this medium online.
suggestion for 7th millennium: I guess you have to come something that is ideal for our province. Consider our culture and resources in doing your plan.
@laddy millenNium is OUT OF CONTEXT. IM GLAD YOU NOTICE IT.
you dont have to beliEve him.
in fact milliniuM is a LIABILITY TO THE MERCADO CAMPAIGN.
PATAKA RAG YAM YAM..
Hint: Tan-awa ninjo ang site ni 7thMillenium kon kinsa sija.
Daghan kaajong salamat for this forum, mang-gawas na jud ang mga binuang nila.
I know already who is 7th millenium. He is a cousin of the Mercados. His name is SAM MERCADO and his sister is Connie who is living in Idaho. Here is his website:
http://www.7th-mil.org/
I think he just copy and paste the contents from there to here..
Your are mistaken to label that the 7th Millennium as one person. It started formally in 1992 as 7th Millennium Mission which was registered in the State of Delaware. But, informally it started in early 1970s during the Feast of Tabernacles held at the Baguio Teachers’ Camp where some Christians spent 8 successive days of conference and festival (as commanded in Leviticus Chapter 23).
For lack of the right and qualified individuals to compose the Board of Directors, it is now composed of scattered brethren and friends from diverse nationalities that have attended and/or visited some Messianic, Sabbath and Sunday-observing churches, congregations, Bible study groups, and other Christian organizations.
The 7th Millennium does not take sides with any politician or particular government locally and internationally. Its mission is to search for the original and remnants of the New Testament Church and to establish some truly biblical self-sustainable communities for those who are seeking to serve Elohim or God and Christ. Through the science of information technology and direct contacts with persons who are citizens in other countries, the 7th Millennium learned that Armenia is the very first country in the world to accept Christianity as their official religion. It is not Rome or Italy.
In addition to learning the original teachings of the New Testament Church, the 7th Millennium searches for the best form of government which has the solutions to most of the people’s daily needs such as food, clothing, shelter, stable and secure sources of income, health and medicine, education from grade school to college levels, peace and order, environmental concerns, etc. The past several years, the Scandinavian countries have been the top governments in the world in terms of high standard of living, peace and order, being pro-environment, and other factors on successful and happy living on Earth.
Currently, some of the support individuals and friends of the 7th Millennium come from Armenia, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, and few other countries.
@laddy,
you are so right.
millenium is just copying from anywhere for his web site contents.
he dont know what his talking about.
LET US ALL RESPECT EACH OTHER RELIGION
he’s not labeling you as 7th mill as one person
you call yourself a sam mercado as 7th mill.
maybe you need to get your act TOGETHER.
don’t be intimidated. galing!
a year ago, maasin city got an online forum at maasincity.info.
the gravity and the impact of the issues about maasin/so.leyete politics were so intense which probably caused the site to crash down.
sayang!
now, we got another chance to air our concern thru this site and I find it good.
i just hope that reporteronline (though the people behind are totallly veterans in journalism) will continue to live up to its name–fair, fearless, and independent–when the floodgates (of maasin/so.leyte politics) will open in the coming days.
padajon, igsoon.
take sides.neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. (I have learned)
so, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get the heads, este, ball rolling now….
ala una, alas dos, alas tres…larga isyu pulitika….
Everybody must speak up! Akala kasi ng mga pulitikong ito, sila na ang hari at reyna sa Southern Leyte. They think they own Southern Leyte. Mga Escano ganun din akala nila they own Tomas Oppus, darating din ang araw, these people will be exposed!…
Well, as far as I know, the now defunct maasincity.info was financed by connie cruz, sister of sam mercado and the moderator was christian toledo.
asus, ganon pala amigos.
no wonder. i rest my case.
laddy says: “…suggestion for 7th millennium: I guess you have to come something that is ideal for our province. Consider our culture and resources in doing your plan.”
Our response: Tourism, investment and retirement communities are some of the projects which we have planned the past 8 years since we published our site in the Internet. Since one of our 3 main objectives is to be a self-sustainable community, we of course have to establish our own means of livelihood first so as to be independent for both public and private organizations . But to do it, we first have to experience what others have been doing the past decades and few of them have been working and living in self-sustainable communities for over 470 years, for example the Hutterian Brethren and some Mennonites groups in Canada, U.S.A. And Australia. We are going to emulate or copy some of their best sources of incomes which can be applicable to not only Southern Leyte, but Region 8. You can see some of them in our web pages (Visit Southern Leyte, Canigao Island Resort, Wanted: Developers, Investors and Retirees to name three).
abe says: “… he [does not] know what his talking about. LET US ALL RESPECT EACH OTHER RELIGION”.
Our response: Of course we know something about what we are writing about when it comes to economic developments. We spent our own money to travel to Benit, San Ricardo, to Hinunangan, Silago-Abuyog concrete roads and bridges, the Agas-Agas Bridge (when the first few days of digging started). We talked to the British volunteers of Coral Cay Conservation and have been inviting foreign tourists to go scuba diving with the Coral Cay volunteers and/or patronize the foreign scuba diving operators in Sogod Bay.
Respect each other religion does not mean one has to keep his or her mouth knowing the true history of Christianity. You can search Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Ask.com, etc. and type the words “which is the first country in the world to accept Christianity as its official religion”? When you find the answer you will lose respect to those teachers in grade school or catechism class. Armenia is the first, not Rome or Italy!
yoyo says: “a year ago, maasin city got an online forum at maasincity.info. the gravity and the impact of the issues about maasin/so.leyete politics were so intense which probably caused the site to crash down. Sayang! now, we got another chance to air our concern thru this site and I find it good.
i just hope that reporteronline (though the people behind are totallly veterans in journalism) will continue to live up to its name–fair, fearless, and independent–when the floodgates (of maasin/so.leyte politics) will open in the coming days.”
Our response: Freedom of the Press is a right of each citizen in a democratic government. However, one cannot get away with it in the next few weeks, months and years because the information technologists know how to track where the original sender of the message send it from. Your IP address or that of the Internet cafe owner where you send your blog or email can be traced. So, be careful with what you write that you cannot be sued in the court of law. It is possible that the authorities would ask the cooperation of the Reporter to give your email address. There are spies all around you!
Magdalo says: “… sila na ang hari at reyna sa Southern Leyte. They think they own Southern Leyte…”
Our response: You falsely accuse they own Southern Leyte. The biggest landowners in Southern Leyte are not necessarily politicians. The entire 7107 islands in our country have existed since thousands of years ago. If you are a professing Christian, you know very well who owns Southern Leyte and the rest of our country! Don’t accuse the individuals you mentioned without proofs and documentations. Think and act like one of the CSI (Crime Scene Investigators) agents as shown of TV the past many years. When you do, you will gain the respect and honor from most if not all.
Be like Efren Penaflorida, the Filipino youth who is known all over the world as a CNN Hero!
to mill,
OUR RESPONDS
DO YOU MEAN YOUR RESPOND.
DUH. .