DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 February) — What kind of Davao City would Dabawenyos choose?
Development worker Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana asked this question to voters during an online forum on Friday, where she laid down her legislative agenda and answered a wide range of questions to help voters decide who is the better choice for Representative of the first district, the post currently held by reelectionist Paolo Duterte, eldest son of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I want you to be proud of your representative,” said the lone woman among four candidates for the post, during the Candid Dates 2022 online forum, as she vowed, if elected, not to cause her constituents any embarrassment or give reason for anyone to say their representative is involved in corruption.
Mags Maglana, a governance, peace and development worker, shows reporters a copy of her certificate of candidacy for first district Representative, on Friday, 8 October 2021. Maglana is the lone woman among four candidates including reelections Rep. Paolo Duterte. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Maglana also pledged to run her campaign consistent with the E-CHAMP principles espoused by organizers of Candid Dates 2022, referring to Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful elections, because “ang isang mandato na makukuha ng isang public official sa pamamagitan ng maruming pangangampanya, fake news, pananakot, at kaharasan ay mandatong huwad o peke” (the mandate that a public official gets from dirty campaigning, fake news, harassment and violence, is a sham or fake mandate).
“I want to be an authentic representative na may authentic mandate sa Distrito Uno ng Davao,” Maglana said as she urged Dabawenyos to choose between two Davaos.
2 Davaos
“There are two Davao cities, one Davao is known for its ability to look for or develop solutions to different problems. The other Davao has become notorious for solutions that have spawned bigger problems even if these are downplayed or even denied,” she said.
She spoke of a Davao City that has “learned to coast along, preferring the comforts and predictabilities of the past and the known” and the other Davao City that is “prepared to take risks and take on challenges and opportunities; a Davao City that thinks life is depicted only with one color and the other Davao City that is multi-colored and multi-dimensional and believes that a diverse Davao makes for a stable and vibrant Davao.
Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana delivers her opening statement at the Candid Dates 2022 online forum on Friday,
11 February 2022.
Maglana added that there is a Davao City that has been tied down to a stage of the past and the present, passively awaiting a future decided on only by a few, and the other Davao City that acknowledges that it has become what it is because of historical events and processes, that it is founded on the efforts of the people, people who are natives here or migrants who have settled here, seeking a better life for themselves, their families, and the city they love, and because of this, “this Davao is prepared to be involved and not merely follow, this is the Davao which knows how to balance the needs of the present and the future.”
“Kada adlaw kita nga mga taga Davao kinahanglang mamili kung unsa sa duha ka Davao ang atong angay ipatunghay” (Every day, we Dabawenyos must choose which of the two Davaos we should uphold), she said, adding that the May 9, 2022 elections is “an opportunity to realize the Davao of our dreams, the city and people of our aspirations.”
“I am Mags Maglana. I am ready to serve Davao City in seeking solutions, proactively identifying problems, boldly facing risks, challenges and opportunities of a Davao multi-colored like a rainbow, a city that pays attention to both the present and the future,” she said in Cebuano.
5Gs
She summed up her legislative agenda into 5Gs, her contribution, she said, to a Davao City that is free, progressive, sustainable and peaceful.
She urged voters to reject the harmful 5Gs associated with traditional politicians — referring to the traditional 3Gs (Guns, Goons and Gold) which has now become 5Gs with the addition of Gigabytes because of social media and GCash, referring to the swift transfer of money to a recipient — and to go instead for the positive 5Gs she is espousing as her legislative agenda: Genuine Recovery from the pandemic and strengthening our health systems: Good quality of life; Green solutions to environmental challenges, disasters, and the climate crisis; Grassroots-oriented approach to peace and human rights; and Governance that is democratic.
On the first G, Maglana explained the need to ensure government has adequate resources and appropriate programs for the country to safely get through the pandemic so that micro, small and medium enterprises can recover and those who lost their jobs can return to work. She also wants to help strengthen the public health system because it is the backbone that would help us deal with future crisis.
On Good quality of life, Maglana said there is a need to find effective ways to respond to the problem of end of contract (endo) and provide decent jobs and living wages for the working class; support women who work and take care of their families, parents and other relatives; ensure that drivers of public transportation do not lose their jobs and assure the safe return of students to face-to face schooling because families are having a hard time with module-oriented and online education. She also promised to champion legislation for women because “what we do to our women and girls, we do to our family, and our nation.”
Children interact with birds inside the People’s Park in Davao City in this photo taken on
August 18, 2016. MINDANEWS PHOTO
On Green solutions, Maglana cited a study of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2018 that showed high dissatisfaction among Dabawenyos on their drainage system, parks or public open spaces and sewerage system. “Kulang ang green spaces sa Davao at murag nanaghan na gyud ang mga high rise buildings, di ba? Mahirap panindigan ang slogan na ‘Life Is Here’ kung mas malapad ang mga sementadong mga lugar” (Green spaces are inadequate in Davao and there are so many high rise buildings now. It is difficult to assert the slogan that ‘Life Is Here’ when concreted places occupy more space), she said.
She stressed the need to review and amend the Mining Act and is firm in her opposition to the waste-to-energy projects in the city.
On Grassroots-oriented approach to peace and human rights, Maglana vowed to push for legislation on transitional justice to address the problems arising from cases of massive human rights violations. She also wants to improve the teaching of the history of Mindanao, the Bangsamoro and the Lumads (Indigenous Peoples) in the formal educational system and wants a return of peace negotiations to settle conflicts.
On Governance that is democratic, Maglana noted that all politicians during the campaign promise to fight corruption, so how will she be different from them? “Ang magiging kaibahan ko ay ay paninindigan ko ito sa personal na buhay habang susuriin ko din kung ako’y magiging representante, ang pagpapatupad ng mga batas na anti-corruption” (The difference is I will abide by this in my personal life while I will also examine, if I become representative, to ensure anti-corruption laws are implemented).
She then vowed she will not cause District 1 constituents any embarrassment should she win. “I want you to be proud of your representative,” she said.
Maglana also cited the need to pass a law to implement the anti-dynasty provisions of the 1987 Constitution (see other story), to ensure the people of District 1 can truly participate in legislation and governance by regularly reporting to the people, “not just once,” and by conducting consultation or dialogues “so I can get your views about the legislations needed.”
“I decided to run as representative of Davao’s first district in the belief that people can make better choices in the political arena. But for the electorate to vote wisely, options have to be made available to them,” she said.
Legislator’s roles
She also reminded the public several times about the role of a legislator as she was asked several questions about projects that are supposed to be the work of the executive.
She said the roles of the legislator include lawmaking, reviewing the national budget and ensuring it is used to deliver services to the people, looking into key appointments, key positions, amending the Constitution. The legislator also has a role in impeachment processes, declaration of a state of war, administrative concerns, and martial law and if we want the President to implement a declared national policy in time of war or national emergency.
Maglana, however, said she likes how the late Senator Juan Flavier summed up the legislator’s role in four categories: lawmaking, public advocacy, constituent-building and government oversight.
The House of Representatives before COVID-19. File photo from www.congress.gov.ph
Magalana was the second local candidate featured in Candid Dates 2022. The first was lawyer and former three-term 3rd district Representative Ruy Lopez, who is running for mayor as an Independent against Sebastian Duterte, youngest son of President Duterte and brother of Paolo and Sara, the mayor who is running for Vice President.
In his comment on the Facebook page of the Ateneo de Davao University, where the event was livestreamed, Lopez, who watched the two-hour forum, wrote: “Congrats, Mags! You are at your element. Your views on various topics reveal you are already ripe to become Davao City’s 1st District Representative in the House of Representatives.”
When she filed her certificate of candidacy on October 8, Maglana told reporters that it was time to end the governance playbook in the city in the past 35 years under Duterte and family, and challenged residents to “explore other and better futures,” with a “shared vision and a commitment to make way for what is possible, rather than just stick with what we have gotten used to.”
“Kailangan nang itapon ang lumang governance playbook ng Davao City na siyang ginamit for 35 years. Itinatali tayo nito sa mga sitwasyong ang interes ng iilan ang nangingibabaw (We need to throw out Davao City’s obsolete governance playbook that has been in effect for 35 years. For too long it has trapped us in situations where the interests of a few are gratified) at the expense of people’s rights and welfare and good governance,” said Maglana, one of the convenors, and spokesperson, of Konsyensya Dabaw.
Aside from Duterte and Maglana, two others are running to represent the first congressional district: businessman Jamal Ranon Kanan and Jovanie Cadao Mantawel.
Candid Dates 2022 is a series of online conversations between Mindanawon voters and candidates running for President, Vice President and local seats in the May 9, 2022 elections, presented by the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS). It is co-presented by the Initiatives for International Dialogue, MindaNews and the Mindanao Consortium of Ateneo comprising the Ateneo de Davao, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro.
The next episode, scheduled on Monday morning, February 14, will feature former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez, who is running for President. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
