Over two weeks since the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections last October 23 have passed yet the results are still felt in several areas in Leyte. From a councilor aspiring candidate burning himself to barangay roads being blocked, it is unexpected to witness petty acts from aspiring politicians.
A frustrated village chief aspirant in Barangay San Pablo, Burauen, Leyte blocked a barangay road that ran across their property claiming it was illegal. The candidate insists that there was no approval from their side when the road was built under the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI CIDSS) last 2015. However, the local government insists that it was approved hence the construction was able to proceed.
A similar case occurred in Barangay Pawikan in Cabugcayan wherein the alleged owner of the property was the sponsor of a losing candidate. Meanwhile, in Leyte, Leyte, students and senior citizens are forced to walk in between barbed wires after the alleged owner also blocked the property they claim after failing to get the votes of the public.
Such childish and petty acts only reinforce the initial belief that they are not fit to sit in the positions that they badly covet. They are now displacing their frustrations on voters who simply exercised their right to choose who they think is the most deserving in the spirit of democracy.
If a simple road right of way is being used as an “act of goodwill” only to be later used as a trap as if the public owes it to them, how much more if they were granted a position. A big possibility is the people will end up owing these kinds of politicians for something that is part of their job and they are being paid to do.
If the concept of “utang na loob” will continuously be used for political agenda, nothing will change with how communities run as well as to who actually has the capability to lead the communities to a better future.
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