TADIAN, Mountain Province – The ability to engage potential political rivals and discuss with them the disadvantages and advantages of intense political rivalry play a crucial role in ensuring a credible political career, especially in the executive post.
Mayor Constito Masweng, who was unopposed in his re-election bid for his second term during the May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections, will be again unchallenged in his bid for a third term in the upcoming May 2025 mid-term elections after no one dared to challenge him following the close of the declared filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for aspirants in the upcoming political exercise last October 8, 2024.
He said that right from the start, he was able to identify his possible contenders at the earliest possible time and constructively engaged them to instead win their support for him to complete his third term instead of creating severed relationships with them.
“It will surely take some time for one to convince the other to give way but what is important is that you are able to effectively and efficiently communicate to them the advantages and disadvantages of having solid political relationships even with differing insights on certain issues and concerns in our community,” Mayor Masweng stressed.
He admitted having aggressively engaged his potential rivals in the town’s mayoralty post for his re-election bid next year through intelligent exchanges of ideas until they were able to understand the importance of sustaining good political and personal relationships as they still live in one community with common culture and traditions.
According to him, politics could result to severed relationships among family members, relatives and friends but when properly handled by the concerned parties, the result will surely be beneficial to both the elected officials and their constituency because of order and stability in their respective jurisdictions.
Masweng graduated as a civil engineer at the University of Baguio in 1993. He immediately proceeded to take the review for the civil engineering licensure exam which he was not able to hurdle in his first take but was able to successfully pass the same in his second take. He also took care of their children while trying to look for a job during that time.
In 1997, he was employed as a contractual engineering assistant at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) where he rendered service for six months tenure before deciding to enter the political arena.
During the May 1998 national elections, he emerged as the town’s top councilor.
In 2001, Masweng was elected as the municipal mayor and served in the same position for three consecutive terms until June 30, 2010.
Subsequently, he was elected as the province’s senior boardmember during the May 2010 national elections and served for one term before being actively involved in the practice of his profession inside and outside the Cordillera from 2013 to 2019.
However, his love for politics was bolstered when numerous elders from the town’s three zones convinced him to run for mayor in the May 2019 mid-term elections. He immediately acceded to the request of the elders considering that no one from the zones was interested to aspire for the said position even if he went against two other candidates who had the influence and resources to bankroll their own political campaign and luckily, he emerged victorious then.
Tadian reaped numerous provincial, regional and national awards, the latest of which is the regional award for passing the Seal of Good Local governance (SGLG) and various functionality assessment, over the past several years with Mayor Masweng at the helm.
The mayor considers his political career as fulfilling despite the numerous challenges that visited the municipality, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the active participation of his fellow local officials and the full cooperation of the people of Tadian allowed the municipality to hurdle the said obstacles and become resilient.
Masweng also expressed his gratitude to his prospective challengers for their understanding of the real political situation in their locality and for eventually giving way for him to complete his third term for the second time which will be one of his legacies in the municipality.
He refused to discuss his future political plans after completing his term as the town’s local chief executive although there are various available options for him to go back to private practice or seek a higher elected post in the provincial level but these will still be dependent on future developments. By Dexter A. See
