The crap comes as a ploy by the Nogie camp in a bid to tone down Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s verbal blast at Nogie, widely believed to challenge Vice Mayor Sara Duterte in the race for the city top post.

But situations on the ground betray this diversionary tactic. Nogie has been organizing machineries in the Third and Second District—the First is perceived as a Nogie bailiwick that could deliver votes for his son lawyer Karlo who would be battling Mayor Rody in the congressional post—contrary to his camp’s propaganda he is not eyeing a local position.

Nogie is known to harbor a childhood dream to become city mayor—this is documented in his vision for tomorrow in his Ateneo grad book—a dream twice frustrated when he was beaten by mayor Rody in 1992 and in 1998 by Mayor Ben de Guzman.

Third try? If luck be with him, he could realize the dream with Inday Sara perceived as a weaker opponent. There is a vanishing point and breaking point for everything. Mayor Rody could run out his luck after two sets of three terms as mayor, and the luck could break when this time Sara faces Nogie.

Nogie’s political misfortunes could also have a breaking point and turn the tide in his favor when the Duterte magic flickers.

Our guess as surefire as the sun will rise tomorrow is that Boy Nogie will run.

Our other guess as surefire as the sun will set in the west is that Mayor Rody could trounce Karlo while Nogie would be left behind in the race, his nose absorbing the dust of Inday’s race to the finish line.

Hahahaha!!!

Remember Benjamin de Guzman? He is the mayor of Davao City who was dethroned by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the 2001 race, mainly on the basis of goats becoming the center of political issues.

While mayor, de Guzman built the P300 million Artica Sports Center in Langub.

Still unfinished before the elections, Duterte, who is on his comeback, used the edifice as a “monument of corruption” of the de Guzman administration.

Construction of the building has been stopped after a complainant filed a case with the Commission on Audit for alleged overpricing and unsound construction.

At the dash to the May elections, the Artica was a sore sight, with grasses growing around it and lots of goats calling the multi-million peso unfinished building their home.

During the campaign period, Duterte had a large photo of the Artica adorning the stage, with fat goats munching grasses around it.

Duterte’s goat stories and the corruption surrounding Artica during his speeches became the talk of the town and drawing large guffaws.

De Guzman lost that campaign mainly on the basis of the goats.

 Against the Team Nobodies of Speaker Nograles, the Hugpong reportedly has formalized its City Council First District line-up with a formidable cast that should send the Nogie boys eating tae in the coming May polls.

WENDEL AVISADO. MELCHOR QUITAIN. ANTONIO LLAMAS. EMMANUEL GALICIA. EDGAR IBUYAN. PILAR BRAGA. BUTCH RAMIREZ. APRIL MARIE DAYAP.

TEAM NOBODIES. Karlo Nograles’ first district council bets map out battle plans for May 2010 against the formidable slate of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod.

Avisado: former DILG regional head, former city councilor and present city administrator.

Quitain: former judge now city legal officer.

Llamas: former city administrator and member of the Villa Abrille clan

Galicia: former chief city prosecutor and former city councilor

Ramirez: former chair Phil. Sports Council

Dayap: a mile beautiful that Joan Bonguyan.

Can you beat that?

Team Nograles on the other hand is a bunch of tyros, has-beens and neophytes, including a lawyer known as Totoy Mohikap, a dirty-old-man also known as a perennial loser in several past council races, who we are sure would drive away the women’s votes.

It is lamentable that Konsehal Peter Lavina should be crucified for doing a good thing in coming out with a political survey this early to get feel the people’s pulse for the public consumption of voters in Davao City.

With Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Vice Mayor Inday Sara Duterte coming out on top of the heap (Inday Sara vs. Speaker Prospero Nograles in the mayoral race and Mayor Rody against Atty. Karlo Nograles in the 1st district congressional race) it was anticipated that Konsehal Pete should get the flak from the media lapdogs of Speaker Nogie.

Surveys are surveys and we are aghast at how Konsehal Pete became a special target of the Nograles boys handled by Nogie man Friday Bombet Castillo who, according to reports, is like a broken DCWD pipeline when it comes to doling out happiness in cash to the media boys.

Methink, Mayor Rody chief of staff Bong Go, who also handles City Hall’s version of DCWD that quenches the thirst of friendly media should mobilize his troops to counter this assault on Konsehal Pete. Wawa naman si Pedro.

We are particularly hurt by the statement of a Boy Tamayo, the spokesman of Nogie, who said Konsehal Pete’s survey should not be credible his image being tainted with corruption.

Tamayo said that Pete belongs to the so-called DLBM Gang in the city council who came into the limelight lately for reportedly asking money in the millions of pesos from housing developers and investors for approval of their business permit.

The L in the DLBM reportedly is Lavina. We asked around and was informed that the D stands for Mahipus (Diosdado), the B for Baluran (Conrado) and the D for Dayanghirang (Danilo). We heard that Konsehal Pete is clean and we cannot understand why he has fallen into the wrong company of the gang.

We came to know that the Ombudsman is investigating the case. But we suggest that the Ombudsman come out with its finding pronto or before the campaign period starts in order to the fair to the DLBM Gang. The corruption charge is too lethal to be left aside unresolved and then used as political scuds against city councilors.

They are Speaker Prospero Nograles and son lawyer Karlo Nograles first district council line-up in Davao City’s First District.

Dubbed as Team Nograles, the camp of Vice Mayor Inday Sara Duterte, who will be Hugpong’s mayoral bet vs. Speaker Nogie has called the line-up Team Nobodies.

Why? Because the bunch is composed of political washouts, neophytes or plan nobodies.

Dolor: he got clobbered in his last outing in the council race in the second district so he is trying his luck in the first. A former city councilor, hiis outstanding feat in the council is being perennial chair of the committee on silence. He would be amply supported by city government contractors, who should be happier if Dolor wins.

Jo Anne Bonguyan: she could be in the deepest point in the cellar, to disabuse her mind from the idea she would make it because she is a Bonguyan.

Jeff Ho: Jeff who? A doctor, he planned to run in 2001 vs. Duterte, but chickened out. In 2004, he went into the motion of doing a repeat but chickened out again. In 2007, he run for vice mayor vs. Sara and got votes equal to the number of patients he had served in his clinic. He is well-known for having a rapist-son, one of a group of young men who screwed up a coed from the Brokenshire School of Nursing two years ago.

Prospero Mojica: Lawyer and Totoy to his drinking buddies, he is popularly known as Totoy Mohikap for his penchant for young prostitutes. He is a perennial loser in the council run—4times—losing mainly because his wife would dog his campaign to say ugly things against her husband, a former president of the IBP.

Joel Santes: barangay captain of Matina. His late father, bless his soul, the respected journalist Joe Santes, run five times for a council post without winning. Hope Joel would not add more to that list of debacles.

Villanueva, de los Reyes and Parilla? No say.

DOWN FOR THE THIRD TIME? This trademark hand gesture of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte should send an uncomfortable warning to Speaker Prospero Nograles who will be fighting mayoral daughter Vice Mayor Sara Duterte in the mayoralty race in 2010. Nogie was trounced by Mayor Duterte in 1992, then was clobbered by Duterte protege Benjamin de Guzman in 1998. With Mayor Duterte giving no quarters for any pretender, will Nogie see his third defeat in his bid to capture city hall in the coming polls?

EXTREME HATRED. With the general feeling of hate in Davao City for House Speaker Prospero Nograles aptly captured in this photo by ace photog Keith Bacongco, what’s Nogie’s chance in his fight for the mayoralty in 2010 against Vice Mayor Sara Duterte? Here, militant groups sum up their anger for the Speaker in massive rallies timed with the last SONA of President Arroyo.  

Dabawenyos should tremble to hell at the coming bloody scenarios in the local elections in May 2010.

Critics of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Vice Mayor Sara Duterte are hitting them for the Davao Death Squad, the cal. 45-bearing motorcyle-riding gunmen said to be behind the series of summary executions in the city and suspected as City Hall-backed.

The gunmen—popularly known as DDS— could be used by City Hall to terrorize supporters of Speaker Prospero Nograles—running for mayor against Sara—-and Atty. Karlo Nograles–son of the speaker and running against Mayor Rody in the first district congressional race.

Supporters of Nograles however need not be afraid.

If the Dutertes have the DDS, the Nograleses have the PDS and the MDS.

What PDS and MDS?

Well, we heard that retired Gen. Jovito Palparan, the Butcher of the Militants—he left a bloody trail of killings of progressive personalities in Samar, Bicol and Central Luzon before his retirement from the Army two years ago—is pitching camp in Davao City to help Speaker Nograles capture City Hall in 2010.

Palparan, who sits in Congress representing the Bantay partylist, has been a regular in the city since the Duterte-Nograles encounter heated up, supposedly to meet with Bantay members.

Don’t believe the crap. From what we know, he has started organizing his own hit squad–which should be known as the PDS or the Palparan Death Squad to counter the DDS assault on Nograles supporters. Given his track record as a military officer, there is indeed a need to fear.

And there is more to this death squad thing.

We also heard that Gen. Matillano (is he retired?), the former chief of the PNP XI regional office is also hiding somewhere in this city for reasons similar to that of the Butcher.

If you remember Mati, that’s his nickname, he was the only police officer who stood up against the DDS, which was hitting one victim a day when he was assigned at the Recom XI.

He had threatened precinct commanders they would be assigned to Paquibato, ruled by NPA kumander Parago, if the killings are not stopped. For a while, the DDS laid low until “somebody” also stood up against Mati.

His reign at Recom of course was shortlived, but Mati left with a heavy heart.

Like Palparan, he has become a good friend of the Speaker, and reportedly is on the same mission here: form his own death squad which we could call the MDS or the Matillano Death Squad to trade bullets with the DDS or harass Duterte supporters.

Ha!Ha!Ha!

Tago na mo mga Dabawenyo pag-abot sa eleksyon 2010!

Imagine: DDS ni Duterte kontra PDS and MDS ni Nogie.

Bloody gyod!!!

Lawyer Karlo Nograles’ take that Davao City could surpass Makati City is aptly in the right direction.

Under the leadership of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the city’s annual revenue was P180 million in 1988 when he first sat as mayor and could balloon to P3 billion plus by next year.

The figures from P180 million to P3 billion plus—after the mayor had served the city for nearly 20 years—are incontrovertible facts and figures about how Mayor Duterte steered the city to progress and development.

Davao City going to become a Makati City? That is not impossible.

But Karlo should not qualify this coming reality with the argument that this could not be realized if Dabawenyos would not strive more. Or elect new leaders, which is the undercurrent of his statement.

His message is that while Davao City has progressed, Dabawenyos needed a new leadership to achieve this. Is he saying this could be done if he is elected as congressman in May 2010. Is he also saying that his father, Speaker Prospero Nograles, should be the city mayor so that Davao City could become a Makati City?

Like the much-taunted signboards on every DPWH project in the city that bears the name of the Speaker and Karlo, the Nograles son’s statement seems to make it appear that Davao City’s progress lies in him in Congress and the dad holding the reins of the local government.

Simple case of credit-grabbing.

The Dutertes have been in local governance all these years. The Nograleses were into legislation, national at that, all these years and has no right whatsoever to claim they mattered when Davao City was struggling with a measly P180 million income in 1988 up to the time that it became the country’s biggest earning local government unit. More so if Nograleses propose an election promise that they could do better than the Dutertes and make the city another Makati City.

 This report was in the local papers this week:

The son and chief of staff of House Speaker Prospero Nograles sees Davao City as having the potential to surpass the living conditions of more progressive cities like Makati.

Lawyer Karlo Nograles, in the Kadayawan Sa Dabaw edition of his Saturday radio program Kalamboan Dala Tanan, said Davao City “has already achieved a lot since its post-EDSA days of ‘PU’ (small public utility cars) and rocky roads but a lot more could be achieved if Dabawenyos would strive more.”

(This is the catch. Karlo is saying na kulang pa gyod ang nahimo ni Mayor Duterte ug mga Dabawenyos)

The young Nograles said Davao City has great potential and “could even surpass living conditions in more progressive cities like Makati.”

The city of Makati has been boasting of its City College and City Hospital that give residents free education and medical care.

Karlo said his father has been making up for these needs through scholarships and assistance to Davao Medical Center (DMC).

He said to date, more than 15,000 students have benefited from the Nograles Scholarship while thousands of people have received PhilHealth cards. DMC’s facilities have also been “vastly improved,” he said.

“The Speaker is also building the first honest-to-goodness sports center in Davao City that would rise in the campus of University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP). The sports center will cost at least P60 million and could seat up to 7,000 people in air conditioned comfort,” Karlo said.

(See it? Karlo and the Speaker are now politicking, dangling scholarship grants, a hospital, a college and a sports center as if these are the only things that Dabawenyos needed.)

Some members of the Davao City media could find themselves in trouble some day when Speaker Prospero Nograles makes public an audit report on Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s peace and order funds.

Some media men, city hall officials, councilors, policemen and ward leaders were listed in the report, according to Nograles last week.

The Speaker described the audit findings as “explosive that could drag many personalities to serious legal problems.”

But Nograles is not about to bare the list of those who shared in the P450 million annual peace and order fund.

I will still have to study the initial audit findings, said Nograles in media reports.

Nograles also twitted Duterte on his statement on television that the peace and order fund are spent wisely for the needy.

Is distribution of rice, sardines and noodles part of the peace and order campaign? asked Nograles.

The audit on the mayor’s fund reportedly was instigated by Nograles who is challenging Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of the last-termer Mayor Duterte, in the mayoral contest in May 2010.

Nograles has already engineered the preventive suspension by the Ombudsman of three top City Hall officials for the demolition of a P2 million park named after his father, Erico, in Miniforest, Quezon Blvd.

While city administrator Wendel Avisado, city engineer Jose Gestuveo and canal maintenance chief Yussof Jimlani have secured a TRO from the Court Appeals, Duterte was included in one of three cases in connection with the demolition that Nograles filed, and may also be suspended.