13 APRIL 2007

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CASIPLE SAYS some politicians instinctively seek to protect and ensure the welfare of their family and clan first, and either neglect or ignore that of their constituents'. And with the timidity of many to question or complain about their elected officials, inept politicians remain in power. "The old landlord-tenant relationship, the feudal system, they're still in our culture," he says.

He adds that a town's disgruntled middle class, by leaving, wittingly or unwittingly helps a bad leader stay in power. "When the progressives leave, when the respected people in town do not put up a fight, local officials lose their sense of responsibility to do well," Casiple says.

Mayor Mendigorin, though, believes he has accomplished a lot the past 19 years, pointing at the edifices constructed under his term as proof. "My biggest accomplishment, I guess, is the establishment up of a national high school here," he says.

The mayor also asserts, "Before, Cabangan did not have a plaza. There was no market. Now we have those. And there's also an infirmary that's open 24 hours."

The plaza and public market were built with funds that the national government poured in after Mt. Pinatubo's eruption in 1991. But this writer, who grew up in Cabangan and went to high school there, remembers very well that long before Mendigorin came to power, there was already a cemented plaza in front of the town hall where various events were held. There was also a small public market. Both plaza and market were in the poblacion, however; now they are a short walk away from the center of the town.

In any case, the mayor says his administration is also trying to give the town youth some training to make them better prepared for the future. They may not offer any computer-training course, but Mendigorin says they have "trainings in welding, in cosmetology. Whatever (the youths') interests are, that's what we base our offerings on."

He also says young students and out-of-school youths are being tapped for the town's reforestation efforts, although he admits that these jobs are available only during the summer. He says those who are interested in computer-related training courses will have to approach the government's Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the provincial capital, Iba, which is two towns away.

Mendigorin is running for reelection this May. He will have two challengers, but he doesn't look worried. He says he plans to borrow P1 million to finance the repair of Cabangan's irrigation system. But he says that this time, the town will borrow from the DBP.

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