NEW CAPTAIN. Rolando Trajera, a retired police officer and barangay kagawad (councilor) promises to pour in infrastructure to address the flooding issue. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA and TYRONE A. VELEZ
Davao Today
Davao City – In the city’s biggest barangay Bucana 76-A, a tight race for the post of barangay captain saw former barangay councilor (kagawad) Rolando Trajera beating incumbent Robert Olanolan, who figured recently in leaked nude photos with his former girlfriend.
Trajera, a retired police officer and supported by first district Rep. Karlo Nograles, beat Olanolan by a margin of 582 votes as the former got 10,351 votes to Olanolan’s 9,769.
“This is for the people of 76-A,” Trajera told reporters during the proclamation Tuesday night at the election canvassing center in SIR Elementary School. “We expect the victory because the people know what is the real situation in this barangay.”
Marring Bucana’s elections was the pre-election day circulation of nude photos allegedly that of Olanolan and his former girlfriend.
The photo which circulated in another barangay, showed a female candidate having sex with a barangay official. The female came out and identified the official as Olanolan. A news report quoted Olanolan as admitting that the female was his former girlfriend, but denied that he was the man in the photographs and that he was behind the leaking of the photos.
The woman has reportedly sought the court’s protection order and is said to be suing Olanolan for violating laws prohibiting violence against women, voyeurism and obscene publications.
Trajera denied his camp was involved in the sex photo leaking. “We don’t do that. Even during our campaigning, we do not malign our opponents. We let the people decide.”
He admitted that going up against the incumbent Olanolan was tough but “we got positive feedback from the people, and we never tire from campaigning.”
Trajera said his priority now is to pour in infrastructure to solve the flooding problem in the barangay.
“We will repair the canals, the roads. Ang uban pang dapat ayohon, tagaan nato priority ang infra program diri. (All the things that need to be repaired, we will give priority to infrastructure programs here),” Trajera said.
Trajera’s proclamation was briefly delayed when one man handed the board of canvassers a letter allegedly coming from the barangay captain demanding for a recount in two polling centers.
The head of the canvassing board, Rosauro Camacho, rejected the letter and ordered police officers to escort the man out of the canvassing center.
Camacho later told Davao Today that the man approached him “in a rude and threatening” manner that forced him to enforce security.
This incident prompted winning kagawad Celso Tizon, who once fought a long, bitter battle with Olanolan for the position of barangay captain, to say, “I wish it’s time to accept this, and refrain from causing trouble. Even if we have different principles, let us support one another for the sake of the barangay.”
Brgy. 76-A Bucana covers Bucana, SIR and some areas of Ecoland and Matina. It has a population of 180,000 with 58,000 registered voters. Elections in this vote-rich barangay in the city’s downtown area have always been hotly contested, with Olanolan defending his position in the previous elections from Duterte-backed candidates.
The barangay has establishments such as the city’s bus terminal and Hall of Justice, SM Mall of Davao, hotels and restaurants. The barangay earns receives 25 to 30 million in the annual Internal Revenue Allotment.
(John Rizle L. Saligumba & Tyrone A. Velez, davaotoday.com)
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