Trillanes on a roll? Ex-generals, colonels lose big in local races

Detained rebel leader Antonio Trillanes IV may have pulled off a good showing in the Senate race, but that feat is not shared by his fellow ex-officers in the local races who have taken a hard beating from their opponents. At least two dozen former police/military officers ran last May 14, the biggest batch from that sector to test the political waters since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. The Senate race is another story for soldiers-turned-politicians. Of the four ex-officers who ran, only ex-cop Eduardo Orpilla is doing poorly. Senatorial candidates Panfilo Lacson, Gregorio Honasan, and Trillanes remained in the winning circle as of today, with Trillanes turning out to be the biggest surprise in the hotly contested race. The three project well nationally, carving out an image as reformers and anti-establishment figures. Losers and Lessons Eight ex-police generals have been trounced by their opponents in the just-concluded elections, based on Newsbreak’s latest count. They include two former national police chiefs, ex-generals Ramon Montaño and Santiago Aliño, who lost in their congressional bids in Negros Occidental (2nd district) and Marinduque, respectively. Two officers closely associated with President Arroyo were also beaten: retired Army general Alberto Braganza, a former military aide of the President who lost to Arthur Celeste in the race for Pangasinan’s 2nd congressional district, and ex-coup plotter Abraham Purugganan, Ms. Arroyo’s former adviser on special concerns who lost in La Union’s congressional race (2nd district) to another ex-soldier, former Army Capt. Thomas “Butch" Dumpit Jr. It was Pangasinan that witnessed the biggest number of uniformed men who ran for elections last May 14. Retired general Amado Espino, already a former congressman, won as governor there, while two other ex-police generals, Reynaldo Velasco and Marcelo Navarro, won as mayors in Sta. Barbara and Mabini towns, respectively. Another ex-cop, Paul Tucay, lost in the mayoral race in Bolinao, Pangasinan. Espino’s victory over the wife of former Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani is a case that uniformed men should learn from—if they still want to run in future local elections. The simple lesson is: it’s hard to run as an outsider in your own hometown. Espino was able to develop his political base in Pangasinan long before he thought of running because he once served as provincial police commander there in the 1990s; he also became police commander of Region 1 about five years ago. From Scratch A similar case would be that of the late Col. Rodolfo Aguinaldo, who served as a governor and congressman of Cagayan; he had previously been provincial commander in that province as well. Most of the former soldiers and cops who ran in the last elections had been away for long periods from their hometowns. They only returned to these areas after retirement, when they started wooing prospective voters. Take the case of the cities of Puerto Princesa and Laoag, which dealt a heavy blow to the first attempt of two retired police generals to run for public office. Ex-general Eduardo Matillano lost his mayoralty bid to incumbent Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn, while ex-general Rowland Albano lost to incumbent Laoag City Mayor Michael Fariñas. Both ex-cops virtually had to build their names from scratch because they had spent most of their working years in other provinces and they were up against well-entrenched and moneyed incumbents. Will Palparan Make It? Retired police general Nestor Sanares likewise failed in his bid to become Batangas’s vice governor. In the Visayas, most of the six ex-cops who ran didn’t make it. They include Robert Delfin, a veteran police intelligence officer, who lost to incumbent Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier in a close match, and retired Constabulary intelligence chief Gerardo Flores, already an incumbent mayor, who lost in his congressional bid (2nd district, Iloilo). Also defeated in Iloilo’s congressional race (5th district) was ex-Army Col. Enrique Suplico, brother of outgoing Rep. Rolex Suplico. Resigned Army Col. George Rabusa, implicated in the “comptroller family" scandal in the military, botched his mayoralty bid in Sugud, Southern Leyte. But luck smiled on an equally controversial police officer previously linked to jueteng by whistle-blower Sandra Cam, Restituto Mosqueda, who won as mayor of Estancia, Iloilo. Former Army general Prospero Noble likewise lost to Cesar Jalosjos in Zamboanga del Norte’s congressional race. What is, of course, being keenly watched now is the performance of Bantay, the party-list being represented by controversial general Jovito Palparan (Read: Is The General A Butcher?). Bantay has not been doing well based on the latest unofficial count, but it’s too early to tell if it won’t pass the two-percent mark.