CAGAYAN de Oro City—As I write this, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) has yet to stage their nationwide ‘peace rally’ in Cagayan de Oro City and elsewhere around the country and already this activity raised some concerns among the local netizenry.
Specifically the choice of venue for the peace rally which is the old Ampitheater since it can accommodate quite a limited space for attendees. Add to this the local INC chapter’s request for a ‘signal jam’ during the rally which lasts from 8 am to 4 pm and city residents not only have to grapple with the expected traffic congestion but a slowdown of office operations which rely heavily nowadays on steady WiFi and cell phone signal connections.
Thus it was but practical that Cagayan de Oro City Hall issued an executive order suspending classes affected by the peace rally which organizers claim would draw 30,000 devotees from across northern Mindanao. Based on the EO posted at the City Information Office and Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy’s Facebook page, City Hall will also suspend work except only for departments whose services are deemed vital to the public.
As to whether the EO covers private offices, most likely it would be left to the discretion of the respective managers but this early, there were not a few complaints about the rally which is seen as disruptive owing not only to the location which houses many schools and offices including nearby City Hall but also to the expected traffic congestion—if there is such a high turnout of devotees that would crowd the Divisoria area as what organizers would claim.
I also got information from sources that the Rio de Oro Boulevard—which served as venue for many major activities but which a growing number of netizens including former mayor Oscar Moreno clamored for its opening to vehicular traffic—would instead serve as a giant parking area for the INC devotees and organizers that would attend the peace rally in the City of Golden Friendship.
*************
I don’t know how this ‘peace rally’ would turn out, but I hope to God that it won’t turn out to be political in theme and nature. I get that the country is in quite the turbulent political mood right now since the May 2025 elections is around the corner but I doubt if the INC peace rally would quell the seething political tensions caused by the escalating rivalry between the two camps positioning themselves towards a clear shot to Malacañang in 2028.
Speaking of politics and former mayor Oscar Moreno, I got a chance to interview OSM in his program ‘Overtime’ that was posted in his Facebook page and other related social media channels. It would take me sometime to discuss all his points but one of the key touchstones that came out during the dialogue, if I remember it right, was the word ‘respectability.’ And according to OSM and critics, that word doesn’t apply to the incumbent administration at Cagayan de Oro City Hall.
There are a host of issues that the former mayor and critics have raised in the past few months leading up to the campaign period not least of which is the alleged mismanagement of City Hall’s finances and the abandonment of certain projects pursued by OSM’s administration such as the satellite hospitals etc. But that financial housekeeping critique is quite a sticking point based on the rash of complaints from unpaid job order workers including those at the city-owned JR Borja Hospital.
Let me be clear that from the outset my faith in OSM’s leadership and his legacy at both Cagayan de Oro City Hall and the Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental remains steady despite the constant barrage of criticisms leveled at him by his political enemies and their paid hacks and ‘solsoltants.’ Padayon gud ang Paskong kalipay sa mga binayran nga alipores sa politiko (The Christmas cheer continues for the minions of politicians).
And as is warranted by their livelihood, it is to be expected that the harangues and attacks would intensify in the weeks and months to come as campaign funds come pouring in from both local and national sources. Thus it is quite crucial for the voting public not to be swayed by their campaign rhetoric and the promise of easy money but to closely examine all issues at hand confronting these candidates to see if they are indeed worthy of serving the public.
************
On another front, it’s only a few days left before former president Donald Trump assumes the US presidency once again despite the legal entanglements being fostered on him by agents of the outgoing Biden administration whose legacy at this early onset is one of shame, gross corruption, incompetence, overly woke politicized policies and utter humiliation.
As reports of Trump regaining the presidency began to seep in during the hours after the elections, many of the liberal left wing commentators—including outright militant activists and former advisors of former president Barack Obama masquerading as ‘news personalities’—-and anchors in the American legacy media were suggesting that outgoing president Joe Biden continue with the supposed Democrat Party plan to resign and give way to Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th US president even if only for a few weeks in a caretaker capacity until Trump is sworn in.
That to me is quite appalling as it showed the sheer craveness to which the outgoing Biden administration and the Democrat Party in general are willing to cling to power and make crucial policy decisions that would impact significantly on the incoming Trump presidency even if only out of spite. And even before Trump won, there had been suspicions that it wasn’t Biden but Obama and his key advisors that were running the White House behind the scenes with no accountability whatsoever.
Such possibility was made crystal clear during the Trump-Biden debate sponsored by US mainstream media in which Biden was shown clear as day to have been overcome by senility. Add to that Kamala Harris whose ascension was driven more by DEI (diversity, equity and inclusivity or more derisively termed as ‘Didn’t Earn It’ by critics) machinations rather than actual merit and qualifications and you have a tandem that has done far worse for the US than any other in its modern political history.