The gubernatorial bid of former Cabinet Sec. Leoncio Evasco, Jr. was assured of the full support of more than 300 candidates for the next election wanting to be identified under his group even as they belong to various political parties.

He met for the first time with all the candidates coming from the three congressional districts at the Reyna’s Haven and Gardens in Tagbilaran City last Sunday.

Evasco, who served as town mayor of Maribojoc took three hours to address his fellow poll bets where he explained in detail his life, his mission and how he got affiliated with then Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a fiscal then who decided on a case faced by Evasco being a former rebel during the Marcos regime.

His “talk” with the poll bets likewise elaborated on his life, being a former priest before he joined the government.

While in Davao City, Evasco recalled his learning curve while serving under the Duterte administration. 

In attendance during the political meeting were Rep. Aris Aumentado and congressional bets in the third district, Vice Gov. Dionisio Balite, Board Member Alexis Tutor and former Carmen mayor Cheche Toribio de los Reyes.

REDRAW DEVELOPMENT

ROAD MAP

A paradigm shift will redraw Bohol’s development roadmap if Evasco will find his way to the Capitol.

This, as Evasco, frowned at how the present provincial administration has anchored development on tourism and consider agriculture as just a support to tourism.

He said that if he would be elected governor, he would insist that agriculture should have a separate or parallel track from tourism as he finds a problem on what he sees now that agriculture is projected to serve tourism.

“Ang turismo ato na gyud ni. Pero ang mga pobre baya wa baya gyud nanginahanglan og turismo tungod kay sa dugay na nilang pagpanginabuhi nagkugi na sila sa ilang kaugalingong paningkamot sa gamay ra gani ang suporta sa gobyerno,” Evasco said.

Evasco pointed out that tourism is a sensitive industry and if agriculture is directed to serve tourism and tourism would fall, it would drag agriculture down with it.

He said that if he would be elected as governor, he would ensure to protect the farmers so that they would not be taken advantage by the big businessmen.

He would ensure that there would be a genuine support to the farmers in terms of production and post-harvest processes.

Evasco believes that tourism has victimized the poor because the officials in the province of Bohol have prioritized the businessmen and investors in the tourism industry.

“Pag-abot sa turismo, unsa may nahitabo? ang pobre maoy nahimong biktima niini tungod kay ang mga opisyal sa probinsya sa Bohol ila namang gipakadak-an ang mga negosyante, ang mga investors sa turismo, nga nahikalimtan na ang mga nalugpitan nga mga gagmay diha sa pagpauswag sa turismo sa atong probinsya.  Dinhi ta. Mag-istorya ta. Naa may daghan nga dili malipay ani.  Pero ayaw kaguol, di ko gusto nga kung dunay dili malipay nako, kining mga dato dyutay ra ni sila.  Ang daghang malipay ani ang mga pobre.  Diha ko sa mga pobre sa bohol,” according to Evasco.

Evasco also alleged that while the residents of Panglao and Dauis cannot be prevented from selling their lands, at least there should be some guidance for them, but what happens is that there are officials in the province who are encouraging them to sell their lands for their (officials’) own benefits.

He added that, in fact, there are even officials who are buying lands now and they deal it to investors.

“Naa man nang mga taga-Panglao ug Dauis. Kani pong pagpamaligya og yuta dinha. Bisan pag ma-gobernador ko. Wa may makapugong nila kung mamaligya silag yuta. Ang ato nalang dinhi nga matagaan nato silag giya. Ang nahitabo man gud nato dinhi, naay mga opisyal nato dinha sa probinsya sa Bohol maoy naga-galgal sa pagpamaligya og yuta kay sila man ang nakabintaha, nakakwarta dinha. Og gani, naa pa man gani opisyal nato sa probinsya sa Bohol sila pa man gani ang namalit sa yuta karon. Ug kini karon sila na ang naga-deal sa maong mga yuta para sa mga investors,” according to Evasco.

Evasco, however, said he would not divulge the identity of these officials as of now because there are dummies but time will come he would disclose who are the dummies and who they dummied for.

“Wa man tuod makita nato ang ilang mga pangalan. Dummy kana. So kahibalo ako kinsay nag-dummy, kinsay ilang gi-dummyhan. Moabot ang panahon, iyagyag nako, isulti nako sa akong kaigsoonang Bol-anon kinsa ning mga politiko dagkong politiko sa Bohol daghag yuta diha sa panglao,” Evasco warned.

HITTING RIVAL ANEW

Evasco also lashes at his rival, Deputy Speaker Arthur Yap, anew as he expressed in an interview with DYRD Inyong Alagad that the latter is associated with rice smugglers.

Evasco shared that on the issue of shortage of rice supply, he insisted during his stint as Cabinet secretary overseeing the NFA Council that there should be fair distribution of rice to different parts of the country, but the problem was that the friends of Yap who are still controlling the smuggling of rice because their goal was to amass money and not to provide rice to the poor Filipinos which include the poor Boholanos.

“Maong nag-away mi dinha sa NFA kay niinsister ko nga maapod-apod ang bugas sa laing dapit sa Pilipinas sa pamaagi nga patas. Apan ang problema naay mga amigo ni Yap nga mao gihapoy nagkontrolar sa smuggling sa bugas kay ang tuyo ang kwarta ug dili ang paghatag og bugas sa pobreng mga Pilipino nga apil na diha ang pobreng mga Bol-anon,” according to Evasco.

THE CALLING

Evasco also said that he had long been urged by the people of Bohol to run, but he said it is not that easy, unlike the others who would wrest for it.

“Ako dugay naman ko gisultian sa mga tawo sa Bohol. Ila kong gihangyo nga modagan, pero dili man na ing-ana kasayon ang pagdagan. Lahi sa uban nga manggiilog. Ako nagpamalandong ko. Una, kaya ba nako ang trabaho. Kaya ba nakong tubagon ang gipaabot sa katawhang bol-anon? Di man ko ingon ana maglisud pagdaug tungod kay hibalo ko ang gipaabot sa atong kaigsoonang Bol-anon usa ka panggobyerno sa bohol nga makatubag sa panginahanglan sa mga Bol-anon,” Evasco said.

Another thing that he said he considered is the capacity to give a government that would protect the lives of the Boholanos, especially against illegal drugs which he said had been given attention by the provincial government.

“Ikaduiha, usa ka panggobyerno nga makaprotektar sa kinabuhi sa mga Bol-anon labi na sa paglaganap sa droga nga wa gitagaan og gibug-aton sa atong provincial government sa mga namunoan karon sa Bohol.  Ang mga tawo sa Bohol nagpaabot sa panggobyerno diin ang katapusang sentimo sa kwarta nga gikan sa gibayad sa buhis sa mga pobreng Bol-anon magamit gyud ni pagtubag sa ilang panginahanglan,” Evasco added.

He also said he pondered on these and his long years in government service and he realized he could do it.

“Karon, akong gipamalandongan ang ilang gipaabot sa akoa, kaya ba ni nako? Kaya ba ni nako sa akong physical nga kahimtang nako karon. Kaya ba ni sa emotional nga kahimtang nako karon? Kaya ba ni sa akong psychological nga kahimtang. Labi sa tanan, kaya ba ni sa akong nakat-unan subay sa akong nakat-unan sa eskuylahan ug sa experyensya nako isip mayor, isip trabahante sa gobyerno sa taas nga panahon. At the end of the day, niingon ko nga kaya nako ni. Tubagon nako ang panginahanglan sa kaigsoonan nakong Bol-anon,” Evasco said.

Evasco also assured that he will not use his position to protect himself from cases because he is not facing any case of corruption.

Most of all, he will not use the position to gain financially unlike what some officials in the province are doing, Evasco said.

“Dili makaingon nga gamiton nako ang position nga maprotektahan ko sa akong mga kaso kay kalooy sa Dios wa koy kaso sa korapsyon ug labaw sa tanan dili nako gamiton ang position nga makapangwarta ko sama sa gihimo karon sa pipila ka mga opisyal sa probinsiya sa Bohol. Ang ako serbisyo. Kaya ni nako isip Bol-anon,” Evasco assured.

PERFORMANCE

As to performance, Evasco said it was wrong for some to say that he had no accomplishment in his stint as mayor of Maribojoc.

He shared that in the nine years that he served as mayor of Maribojoc, he had shown to his constituents that up to last centavo that the municipal government had received from the people was returned to the people through services.

He also shared that during his watch, Maribojoc completed the municipality’s cadastral survey and being the first in the country, it is even now used by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a model in dealing with the cadastral survey in the entire Philippines.

“Niingon sila nga wa koy nahimo? Unsa man diay ang survey? Ang cadastral survey sa Maribojoc gigastohan na sa Maribojoc ug maoy nahimong unang lungsod sa tibook Bohol nga nakahuman sa cadastral survey,” Evasco said.

He lamented that this had never been accomplished since he left Bohol in 1960 and upon his return 47 years after. But it only took him one year to get it done during his time as mayor of Maribojoc.

He said during his time as mayor of Maribojoc, over 1,000 land titles had been released because the cadastral survey had already been completed.

“Gani, paghawa nako sa Maribojoc 1960, niuli ko sa Maribojoc nidagan ko pagkamayor 2007- -47 years after- -wa gyud nay bisan usang titulo nga na-release despite sa padayon nga survey sa cadastral diha. Ngano man sa pag-take over nako, in one year time, ako namang napa-release ang titulo kapin usa ka libo ug before ko nihawa pagkamayor nahuman na na nako. Gani ang survey sa experience nato sa Maribojoc maoy gigamit karon sa DENR isip maoy ilang giya karon sa ilang pagpadagan sa ilang cadastral survey sa tibook Pilipinas,” according to Evasco.

Evasco also recalled that for a long time since the time of his childhood, water had since been a problem, but it only took him several months to have it in place.

He also said that he was even blocked by Gov. Edgar Chatto and First District Rep. Rene Relampagos on the project.

“Tubig. Sa dugayng panahon. Bata pa ko walay tubig dinha. Then it took me several months, napatubigan na tanan. Gani, gibabagan pa ko ni Chatto. Gibabagan pa ko ni Congressman Relampagos that time,” according to Evasco.

BATTLECRY

Evasco vowed that his battle cry is the welfare of the people and bias for the poor as he assured to be fair to all.

“Isip og akoy mapiling gobernador, istorya gyud ta. I would be very very fair to one and all. But being fair, I should have my bias towards my poor province-mates of Bohol, ang mga pobreng Bol-anon kay ako tinuod nga Bol-anon. Dili nako gamiton ang balaud nga akong mapahimudsan ang igsoon nakong Bol-anon. Akong protektahan sila tungod kay ang pagkagobernador nimo o ako, ang usa ka dakong responsibilidad niana ang pagprotektar sa katawhang Bol-anon. I should be very, very fair,” Evasco assured.