BANGUED, Abra – A former boardmember who is aspiring for the capital town’s mayoralty post wants to bring back law and order and to put a stop on massive land grabbing in the municipality that sows fear among the helpless residents who are seeking for leaders who are able to lead them to the right direction.
Mary Ann Bersamin, daughter of the late Rep. Luis Chito Bersamin, stated that the wrath of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought out the best and worst from the present batch of leaders and that the people of Bangued experienced the difficulty of having officials who are not responsive to their needs and how to deal with the prevailing situation, thus, the clamor for new brand of visionary leaders who can elevate the locality to greater heights.
She narrated that in her visit to the different parts of the town, she saw for herself how bizarre the situation is in the various communities where there has been lack of zoning among others that tend to make the municipality in virtual disarray.
The former local legislator and now a mayoralty candidate pointed out that what Bangued needs at this time is for young and dynamic leaders who can pursue the implementation of desired innovations to make governance transparent and convince people to be actively involved in participatory governance.
Further, Bersamin assured the people of Bangued that government facilities will be opened to the public because these are for the people to benefit from aside from ensuring that the regular sessions of the municipal council and the bidding of projects will be livestreamed to erase doubts of rigged processes being done in the seat of government.
According to her, her administration will also ensure there will be a stop in massive land grabbing activities involving influential personalities in the municipality and that people that are in possession of the documents over their properties will be respected as they deserve to benefit from the use of their respective legally-owned land holdings.
She saw for herself that the people of Abra are now fed up with the prevailing traditional patronage politics and they are looking for young and dynamic leaders who can make a difference in leading the municipality and the province to greater heights and erase the negative perception of Abra as the killing fields of the north where election-related violence and incidents proliferate during elections.
She asserted that while people still fear for their lives from the expected retaliation from private armed groups of the present batch of leaders, their desire for change for the better seems to prevail and they are now willing to take the risk of being harassed just to achieve the change they want for a better Bangued and better Abra in the future.
In 2013, Abra recorded zero election-related violence and incidents during the May 2013 mid-term elections during the incumbency of her uncle former Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin as the father of the province. By HENT
