In comes a wildcard, a certain Victor Badar, a balikbayan who was born and raised in Nampicuan, reportedly has done well in the United States and has returned to Nampicuan to retire and run for Mayor. Sounded crazy to me. After all, why would anyone successful assume the headache of a mayor of a poor town like Nampicuan, unless he intended to steal the coffers dry like some of the past mayors. Further, Victor Badar's reputation as a young man in Nampicuan did not leave one with a warm and fuzzy feeling--more like apprehension and fear of another "trapo" (traditional politician).
Long story short, I had the opportunity to get to know Mayor Badar due to certain unfortunate events at Rancho Caridad. In the absence of any personal contact or interaction with Mayor Badar, he acted in accordance with the RULE OF LAW when lawless elements forced their way into the family farm. Just doing his job, you might say. Unfortunately, the RULE OF LAW would have been the least of the concerns of the previous mayor with respect to our family landholdings; hence, Mayor Badar was obviously different.
I later found out that Mayor Badar had little tolerance for trouble-makers, which seemed ironic--given his own reputation as a local tough guy / trouble-maker in his younger days. Clearly, the man has been transformed. Then, I met Tita Remy (wife of Mayor Badar) and it started to make sense.
After so many years of lousy mediocre leadership, Nampicuan finally lucked-out and hit the jackpot as far as Mayor Badar and Tita Remy are concerned. They really don't need the aggravation of governing a poor rural town with all of its accompanying problems. They're just giving back because they've been given much from the fruits of their labor in the United States. It's not so unbelievable there are still people like that.
From a statistical standpoint, Nampicuan cannot always have an awful mayor. It was a matter of time before we got someone who would make a positive difference in the local community. In my view, Mayor Badar and Tita Remy are nothing short of miracles brought about by the Holy Face of Jesus.
This view was reinforced when in one of my casual conversations with Tita Remy, she asked if our family could help attract factories to create more jobs for the local community. Finally, I thought, we are on the same wavelength as the Mayor. And so, the family has again engaged the Office of the Mayor to attract industrial investments into the local economy to provide more jobs and opportunities to the citizens of Nampicuan, which is in addition to the charitable work of my sister, Betta, with the Catholic Church in promoting both the Sanctuary of the Holy Face of Jesus and the Ongsiaco-Alzate Heritage House, representing the most viable religious and historic tourism sites in Nampicuan, respectively.
The following letter to the Office of the Mayor encapsulates the family's support for Mayor Badar's vision of economic development in Nampicuan:
The factual narrative is really quite simple:
WHEREAS, Mayor
Victor Badar is eliciting the support of the Sangguniang Bayan and the private
sector to fulfill his vision of creating more jobs and economic opportunities
for the citizens of Nampicuan;
WHEREAS, Mayor Victor Badar plans to fulfill his vision of economic
development in Nampicuan by (I) developing to the fullest extent the burgeoning
religious tourism brought about by the Sanctuary of the Holy Face of Jesus in
the Immaculate Conception Parish of Nampicuan and (II) attracting industrial
(i.e., factories) and related investments into Nampicuan;
WHEREAS, with respect to the above objective (I), Congresswoman
Estrellita B. Suansing is steadfastly promoting religious tourism at the
Sanctuary of the Holy Face of Jesus—which would also help the above objective
(II)—by way of legislation that has passed the Lower House but remains pending
at the Senate and, therefore, requires written,
official, definitive and unequivocal support from the LGU; in particular, the
Office of the Mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan;
WHEREAS, in line with the above pending legislation of
Congresswoman Suansing (which, if passed into law, will qualify the LGU to
apply for funding for the construction of certain infrastructure under the
DOT-DPWH Convergence Program, also known as the Tourism Road Infrastructure
Program or TRIP), Mayor Victor Badar has identified certain critical
infrastructure components to dramatically improve access of tourists and
industry into Nampicuan, including the construction of (A) an exit/interchange
at the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) at the northwest border of
Nampicuan and (B) a connecting road from the TPLEX exit/interchange to the
Anao-Cuyapo Road, to pursue and catalyze the above objectives (I) and (II);
WHEREAS, Mayor Victor Badar has likewise identified the
landholdings of the Gallego family in Nampicuan as (i) covering the shortest
distance from the TPLEX to the Anao-Cuyapo Road and therefore (ii) the ideal
location to construct the above (A) and (B);
WHEREAS, in light of the above features of the Gallego
landholdings, Mayor Victor Badar has elicited the support of the Gallego family
to fulfill his vision of economic development in Nampicuan, which is fully
supported by the Gallego family as evidenced by the letter from the Gallego
family to the Office of the Mayor conveyed by email on February 28, 2018;
WHEREAS, the said letter from the Gallego family to the Office of
the Mayor expressing unequivocal support for Mayor Badar’s vision of economic
development in Nampicuan recommends, as the first of many steps, the amendment
of the CLUP to include approximately 100 hectares of future industrial and
mixed-used development areas (to support industrial development) to:
a. support the
legislative agenda of Congresswoman Suansing vis-à-vis Nampicuan’s development,
b. enable the
LGU to apply for funding under TRIP to construct (B),
c. secure from
the Gallego family the land required to construct (B),
d. secure the
commitment of TPLEX to construct (A) and, ultimately,
e. attract
industrial and other investors in the Municipality of Nampicuan;
WHEREAS, after careful review, study and thorough deliberations of
the foregoing, the Sangguniang Bayan found the same in consonance with the
mission and vision of this Municipality in the years to come;
RESOLVED, to approve the amendment of the CLUP to include
approximately 100 hectares of future industrial and mixed-used development
areas (to support industrial development) to attract industrial and other
investors in the Municipality of Nampicuan;
It's pretty self-evident. A no-brainer, if you will. The SB can just "cut and paste" the above for its resolution; however, there appears to be an idiot, who isn't even entitled to an opinion, that's throwing a monkey-wrench in the process.
Mayor Badar continues to wait patiently for months on end for the appropriate Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Resolution to approve the amendment of the LGU's Comprehensive Land Use Plan or CLUP as the first of many steps to attract industrial (among other) investments in Nampicuan, which is apparently being opposed by the SB Secretary, whose function is purely ministerial and has absolutely no voice other than to echo the discussions and resolutions of the SB.
Bottom line is, if the SB is unable to correct or neutralize an erring and grossly obstructive SB Secretary, then even the miracle of Mayor Badar and Tita Remy cannot redound to the benefit of the local community.
I have done a couple of aerial surveys at Rancho Caridad to illustrate how Nampicuan can unlock the economic potential of its close proximity to the TPLEX:
Unfortunately, there is still NO SB RESOLUTION and, therefore, there is still NO CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY with respect to the TPLEX interchange / exit or the connecting / access road between the TPLEX and the Anao-Cuyapo Road that will provide quick and convenient access to industrial locators in the first industrial estate of the Province of Nueva Ecija.
This is in stark contrast to the Gallego Road (donated to the LGU free of charge) under construction in Mansalay that will connect the national road to the first master-planned eco-tourism complex in the Island of Mindoro (Mangal Estate). The first resort locator and the access road to the same are expected to be completed and operational in the first quarter of 2020. This is the culmination of many years of cooperation, planning and execution by Mayor Joel Maliwanag, his entire LGU team (including the SB of Mansalay) and the Gallego family, and will result in numerous resort locators within Mangal Estate that will create thousands of jobs for the local community.
Just imagine if the SB just followed the lead of Mayor Badar and got the appropriate SB resolution done. Nampicuan could eventually enjoy the fruits of development that Mansalay will be reaping very soon!
