Citizens' Forum on Democratization Held

"I was a victim of oligarchic politics."

This was the revelation of former Naga City Mayor Sulpicio "Cho" Roco during a citizens' forum which invited some of Naga City's mayoralty candidates last 26 January at the Ateneo de Naga University.

An activity that is part of the Philosophy Week celebration of the university, the forum Citizens in the Public Square: A Forum on Democratization had invited Naga City Councilor John Bongat of the Liberal Party (LP), former City mayor Sulpicio Roco of Aksyon Demokratiko, and Atty. Adan Botor of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC).

Only Roco and Botor showed up; Bongat chose to not attend the forum despite stating earlier that he would.

Roco's statement of being a "victim" of Naga's oligarchic politics came as a response when he was asked how he can confront structures of oligarchic politics.

Earlier, Roco had spoken about oligarchic politics as manifested by the existence of "power hoarding" in the City in which for almost 20 years, power had been in the hands of one individual. While he did not name the individual, it was clear to the audience that Roco was referring to present Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, an erstwhile political ally of Roco.

For his part, Atty. Botor criticized the waste disposal management of the City government, the lack of protection of the Naga River, and the "sick" conditions among urban poor settlers.

"We sacrifice welfare for the sake of politics," Botor pointed out.

Among the issues discussed during the forum were the importance of the elections in addressing the problem of oligarchy, environmental protection of the Naga River, the effects of SM to local businesses, flooding, crime prevention, and civic programs particularly on the promotion of devotion to Ina.

Fr. Wilmer Tria, Chair of the Philosophy Department, formally opened the event by making general observations regarding local politics.

Fr. Tria spoke about the need for citizens to be vigilant in the face of the Naga City government's aversion of criticism about its governance.

The citizens' forum was composed of four parts. The first gave the speakers the opportunity to discuss three topics: oligarchy, environment, and peace/security.

The second part was the interpellation between the speakers, while the third part had a panel of sectoral representatives ask questions to the speakers.

The last part was an open forum with questions coming from the audience.

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