Castilla, Sorsogon political pot now boiling

OPINION
by Bicol Express News

The unexpected happened.

The road to the executive chair at the town hall of Castilla, Sorsogon is comparable to a boiling pot after the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy of Barangay Chairman Alex “Nonong” Sotto as an independent candidate for municipal mayor. He is up against Mayor Isagani “Bong” Mendoza who filed earlier his COC for the same position.

The contenders are good friends who orchestrated Mendoza’s win in 2019 but are now separated in the name of public service. Mendoza boasts his program’s premier to it is the certification of the town as a Certified ISO 2015, the first in the province and in the Bicol region. He also channeled much of the town’s fund to social services but derided for the unfulfilled promises he made in 2019.

Sotto is most popular in his community and known to many as a self-made man. He lead his community in a first-of-its-kind program, the Crab Lying In sanctuary where hatching crabs are left out during harvest giving continuity in its production. He is also opting for another first, the Living Museum, wherein community healers are
accessible for many seek quack medicines for remedies.

Mayor Mendoza is a seasoned tactician, not a newbie in politics. His resume started when he won a directors seat in SORECO2, elected as vice-mayor, suffered a defeat then in tandem with Sotto energized Castilla with his victory. He is now poles apart with Sotto. He built a leadership with guts and hates people who crossed him.

Kap Sotto is allied to Ian Llona, a former municipal administrator who left Mendoza in a huff for reasons as murky as his departure and retire municipal engineer Danny Laurenaria who many believed is an asset of Sotto. The two may spill the beans during the campaign but as cautioned the campaign is level on issues and programs. It was demanded by the aspiring mayor to his team.

What happened to the friendship of the new contenders. Why Kap Sotto dare to challenge Mayor Mendoza. What unfinished business are they nurturing?

There are few and in-between answers to this, Castillanon’s, guess that Kap Sotto feels and believes that it is his time aside from the differences in leadership style, he is flamboyant and accessible same as Mayor Mendoza but there is a big difference in approach.

As mayor one makes programs and services for the public good but none will deny that it is coupled with self-interest as the need to preserve power is as abundant as one dispenses his function. As a contender you see the lowly of leadership albeit the excuses and unfulfilled promises. You try to put weight on its failures and tap
the sensibilities of the electorate to examine the lapses of leadership. Both contrast one another.

With the development, is a hot seat for fence-sitters including political leaders for both have enough to take and make a stand. By far the pot is boiling. I Bicol Express News. All rights reserved. Copyright 2021