Johnny Dayang
Unlike in idyllic Siargao Island where surfing is a treat for the stream of visiting tourists, and where House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez reportedly is building a lovely mansion, the political pot in his Davao del Norte congressional district has become unflatteringly restive.
Underscoring the evolving scenario of disgrace in his turf was the loss by 90% of the village candidates he supported in the recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Since assuming the House Speakership, Alvarez has unabashedly shown his ‘devil may care’ attitude and behavior. Among others, he maligned his wife in public twice, filed charges against his lawmaker ‘best friend,’ crossed swords with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and called the Floirendo-Del Rosario clan of Davao del Norte as plunderers and thieves.
To deflect the unfavourable media tirades on his reportedly extensive land deals in Siargao and Davao, he recently attributed to his former buddy and ally, Rep. Antonio ‘Tonyboy’ Floirendo as source of the derogatory news about him. The latter, however, has become more reactive to Alverez’ allegation. In a statement, Floirendo said:
“Let me say this with candor: Why panic if there’s nothing to hide, and why blame others for his personal engagements? Why press the panic button and accuse me of being the culprit?
“There’s no need to dictate to the media what to do. They know better when someone’s body language is telegraphing a message, and they have their sources to confirm and affirm their stories.
“On a personal note, the things that are slowly unravelling are tell-tale signs the laws of karma are at work, immutable as they are that no leader of any legislative body can amend or extinguish.
“It is not for me to take the initiative of probing the newly acquired wealth of the Speaker. The Ombudsman, on its own, possesses the wherewithals to find out and expose the truth. What we believe is that the official records cited by the press speak with certitude.”
Political crickets on the ground claim they are almost certain Alvarez will lose in the next elections. Reportedly, he now sees the converging forces that are determined to crush him. His constituents are now also aware of reports about the mansion their representative is supposedly building in Siargao where he might retreat after his expected fall in 2019.
