Zubiri - the 'Paglaum'
sang Negros

It was a surprising development. But yesterday, I found myself confronted by the emphatic statement of several Negrenses who called Migs Zubiri as the "paglaum sang Negros." That struck me as funny and, at the same, time echoed the dream by Negrenses for a voice in the Philippine Senate. Although Paglaum was identified with former Governor Alfredo Montelibano Jr., still it does reflect the longing by Negrenses for a senator from among their ranks.

Will that tag fit Migs? To a certain extent, yes. After all, he is not only the son of Joe Zubiri, who is now Bukidnon governor, but still considered by Negrenses as a successful Negrense migrant in Mindanao.

Besides that, Migs' major advocacy was bioethanol - the alternative fuel source from sugarcane juices. And not only one that could save the country a lot of dollars but also provide sugarcane farmers an added source of income but also provide thousands of unemployed jobs.

And the most benefited by that move are Negrense sugarcane farmers and their sugar workers. In one swoop Migs lived up to their aspiration for a brighter future. Hence the choice of the title of "paglaum sang Negros."

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit Negros Occidental next week, but she must be prepared to meet with angry Negrenses. This is one time when Negrenses have rallied to their governor in his demand for an immediate investigation into the actuations of DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.

It will be difficult for Pangandaman to justify the stealth with which he installed last week Task Force Mapalad members in Hacienda Velez-Malaga. There was actually no need for it. He could just have easily done so peacefully without the drama that only created tensions in the area and left in its wake a serious situation that could still blow up in the face of the government, especially the local government units.

First, Pangandaman could have simply coordinated with Governor Joseph Marañon. The latter is not a defender of Bob Cuenca. He only wants to be sure that the issue of Velez-Malaga be settled peaceably.

Second, he wanted to be sure that the solution will not disadvantage any particular sector, including the local government units who still have millions of uncollected realty taxes from carped farms.

The method employed by Pangandaman include the use of force. The employment of some 200 members of the 6th Regional Mobile Group to protect the DAR officials and the installed TFM farmers. But then he left for Manila immediately afterwards.

And most likely proclaiming that he had complied with his duty as he saw fit. I suppose he had his eyes focused on pleasing the President. But I doubt very much whether the dramatics that attended the event - including the hunger strike in Manila - had beclouded the presidential eyes to the reality on the ground and how she was being manipulated to conform to the TFM idea to brush aside the law just to satisfy its members.

Pangandaman just succeeded in painting the President against the wall, and riling an entire province. That's a dangerous syndrome in some cabinet officials. They think that all they have to do is satisfy the President, forgetting that they have been placed there precisely to translate her vision and to protect her policies and programs.

Instead, what Pangandaman did was to put the President's head on the chopping block while he fled back to Manila to proclaim that he had done his job well. And he left Gov. Marañon and La Castellana Mayor Enrico Elumba a giant headache that could still blow up into a major explosion.

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The President did right by asking Kampi not to raid the ranks of the Lakas. It seems that while DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno claimed Kampi has grown into the biggest party in the coalition, yet it is at the expense of the Lakas. Raiding the Lakas ranks does not really add to the KAMPI. It is just like heads I win, tails you lose. Of course, that also undercuts Speaker Jose de Venecia and, more or less, alert him to the possibility that KAMPI may wrestle the leadership of the House from him in the next Congress.

But she must have awakened to the fact that the intramurals among Kampi and Lakas bets for local positions could deteriorate to the point that they could lose their focus on the national senatorial ticket. And that is the danger confronting the Team Unity.

In many places, members of the coalition are locked in mortal struggle for political supremacy. That is usually a diversion from the principal objective of assuring support for the senatorial ticket.

And a sure way by which the desperate local bets may cross party lines for survival, that could spell the difference between winning and losing among some of the Team Unity ticket.

It is not how many of the local executives favor the administration ticket. The question is - are they so devoted to their objective that they are ready to abandon their own political fortunes for the overriding consideration of the victory for the national ticket?*

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