JOURNALISTS TAKE A LEAP TO POLITICS
Several media workers say exposure to social issues has prompted them to run for office this year
Engaging in barangay governance is another form of public service for some active journalists in Cebu and they are aiming for the chance to serve their communities in the May 14 elections.
For broadcast journalist Gabriel Bonjoc, serving in Barangay Poblacion, Talisay City as a councilor in three consecutive terms made him aware of his poor constituents’ plight.
“Usahay ang trabaho sa journalist dili gyud makatugkad sa suliran sa mga tawo nga magpatabang (Sometimes, what a journalist does isn’t enough for those who need help),” he said.
Bonjoc and his fellow reporter in radio dySS, Allan Majait, are on their third and last term as barangay councilors.
Majait, 49, is among three aspirants for the chairmanship of Barangay Apas, Cebu City. Bonjoc, 31, has a lone opponent for the barangay captain’s post of Poblacion.
For Majait, being a journalist for more than two decades is an advantage.
“Daghan kong maduol ug mapangayoan og tabang aron masulbad ang problema sa akong konstituwente (I know many people whom I can approach to help solve constituents’ problems),” he said.
Politics runs in Majait’s blood. His father Marcelino was a councilor, while his mother was a barangay captain in Calubian, Leyte. Marcelino’s second-degree cousin, Honorato Agas, had served as the town’s mayor.
Majait said he learned from his parents the patience to deal with constituents’ problems.
“Maminaw sa problema, dili modiktar (Listen, don’t dictate),” he said.
Unlike Majait and Bonjoc, veteran journalist Dennes Tabar, 45, is running for the first time as barangay captain of Banilad, Cebu City.
“Almost 25 years na ko sa media. Dako ni og matabang labi na sa public service kay ang media naa man gihapon diha ang pagtabang labaw na sa pagpangita sa kamatuoran (My nearly 25 years in media will be a big help, especially when it comes to public service, since we’ve been trained to seek the truth),” he said.
Should he win, Tabar will replace Banilad Barangay Captain Nicolas Leyson. His aim is to achieve a peaceful and progressive Banilad.
Tabar is the news manager of Cebu Catholic Television Network. He also writes for SunStar Superbalita Cebu as a correspondent.
Superbalita Cebu reporter Ogherty “Herty” Lopez is also a neophyte in the field of barangay politics. He is running for a council seat in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City under the slate of reelectionist Tisa Barangay Captain Philip Zafra.
The 24-year-old lover of Tisa’s siomai said one of his programs is to address the concerns of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.