Green Alert by: SV ISORENA
On April 26, 2025, a new force for change swept across the island of Catanduanes.
What started as core three leaders has expanded to five, rallying thousands across the province—from tricycle drivers to farmers, employees to entrepreneurs, youth to professionals—all united by one call; It is time for real change.
Led by former Catanduanes State University President III, Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza, a UP Diliman and UPLB alumnus with training from Harvard and Wharton, this team embodies the island’s yearning for true progress.
Joining Dr. Azanza are:
- Ms. Shirley A. Abundo, [#2] former Acting Governor and Vice Governor, now standing for the vice governorship,
- Giovanni A. Balmadrid, [#2] former PBM and incumbent Virac councilor, vying for PBM of the West District,
- Arnel T. Turado, [#7]former PBM, seeking a return for the East District,
- and Renz McKinley Tanael, [# 7], youthful, dynamic leader, and former CatSU Student Regent, seeking a second term as councilor of Bato, Catanduanes.
The proclamation rally, held after a vibrant motorcade spanning San Andres, Virac, and Bato–culminated in Palnab Del Sur Plaza, packed with supporters from San Isidro Village, Palnab del Norte, Palnab del Sur, Sogod, Tibgao—signaling an unstoppable momentum for liberation.
VG candidate Shirley A. Abundo, in a soft, motherly, and clear words expressed her intention to serve the people, the best she can, as presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan , and acting governor three years ago. She encouraged the attendees to vote wisely amid vote-buying—a long-time political anomaly.
The 5th core leader –Bato Councilor Renz McKinley Tanael who delivered the opening remarks stated the reasons why he supported the candidacy of Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza for governor, together with VG candidate Shirley A. Abundo. Tanael said he is more concerned about the present and incoming generation of children. Highly loaded messages of PBMs Balmadrid and Turado and other significant events will be featured next issue.
-00000-
Standing in contrast is the entrenched political family that has ruled Catanduanes for nearly two decades—incumbent Gov. Joseph C. Cua and incumbent VG Peter C. Cua.
Governor Cua seeks the mayoralty post in the capital town of Virac together with son Chino, now running for councilor. Apparently, they would extend clout and influence, now with younger sibling—incumbent VG Peter C. Cua—taking the gubernatorial position.
Also in attendance during the rally was Virac councilor re-electionist—Alip Abundo—who, while seeking the support of the attendees also shared his platform of government in solidarity with the Azanza-led party.
Atty. Sinforoso ‘Posoy’ M. Sarmiento, who came later from his campaign sortie, determined to slug it out with the outgoing provincial chief executive, said with conviction and gusto:
‘Ang mga Viracnon muklat na ang mga mata. Aram na ang dapat na desisyon o gigibohon sa maabot na Mayo 12—‘KURUGITKUGIT REVOLUTION’—Limang Minutong ‘Kurugitkugit, na daing takot asin may kunsenya para sa pagpili nin karapat-dapat na lideres para sa futoro kan lambang pamilya asin sa mga maabot pang henerasyon.’
Simply “Posoy” to his close friends and loyal supporters, he joined the event per
invitation by the Azanza-led party. The come-backing, highly outspoken leader
rallied behind the advocacies and platform of the party, saying;
“There’s a great incompatibility between a public servant and a businessman,”
apparently taking a sideswipe on his opponent-businessman.
-0000-
Aligned with Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Lakas-CMD political party and TGP Partylist Rep. Jose ‘Bong’ Teves Jr., the Cua-led bloc stands a formidable force, commanding the allegiance of mayors, vice mayors, provincial board members, municipal councilors, and even punong barangays.
Yet for Dr. Azanza and his five –core leadership team—now backed by thousands of highly committed constituents —the Cua-Lakas-TGP alliance is far from invincible. Behind the show of political strength lies a fragile foundation : a machinery increasingly reliant on ayuda governance, political patronage, and alleged perceived secret vote-buying operations, in blatant violation of the Comelec’s Kontra-Bigay campaign.
Many believe that, weighed down by widespread abuses, unchecked excesses, and a growing loss of public trust, the ruling party is not merely at risk—it is on a slow but certain path toward collapse under the burden of its shortcomings.
History has never been kind to those who build their empires on fear and fraud. Where they buy loyalty, they cannot buy honor. Where they sow fear, they cannot silence truth.
Articulated by PBM candidate Giovanni A. Balmadrid during their medical missions and later on their campaign sorties, Dr. Azanza’s movement stands as “THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE”—and may I hasten to add: ‘THE FIRST SPARK OF REAL HOPE FOR CHANGE.”
Henceforth, this is not just a political fight. This is the fight for dignity, for freedom, for the soul of Catanduanes. The time for silence is over. The time for courage is now.
-ooooo-
Also present during the rally was incumbent Virac councilor Alip Abundo, who, while seeking the mandate/ support of the attendees also shared his platform of government in solidarity with the Azanza-led party.
The last to arrive and speak due to his campaign sortie somewhere, Atty. Sarmiento zeroed on the need for a concerted efforts to elect a truly pure Filipino for good measure and assurance.
This May 12 midterm election is not a simple exercise in choosing candidates. Virac Mayoralty candidate suggested the launching of a “KurugitKugit Revolution” —symbolic five minutes of courage in the voting booth that could change the destiny of Catanduanes for generations to look up to with certainty and direction.
Apparently, it would be safe to assume that it is a referendum on 19 years of stagnation. It is a call to reject governance by dole-outs and embrace a leadership that nurtures genuine development.
The 5-K Platform of “Kabataan at Kababaihan,” “Kabuhayan”, “Kalikasan,” “Kalusugan”, and “Katarungan” offers a future where progress is shared, not hoarded.
May 12 is not just ‘Election Day.’ It is Catanduanes’ Independence Day’.
Marcos-CPP Alliance: Real, Dangerous
One, ‘Alyansa’ an Illusion?
Roberto Tiglao of The Manila Times had a comprehensive and incisive analysis of the political landscape and conflicting narratives vis-à-vis the May 12 midterm elections.
He started the ball rolling saying : “With Camille A. Villar and Imee R. Marcos bolting out of his ‘Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas,’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s vaunted alliance of parties is now revealed as an illusion.
Only Speaker Martin Romualdez, because of his and the Marcos family’s billions of wealth or through funds siphoned off from the budget, remains as the group’s sole real member and source of funding.
Tiglao said that “there are no real parties in this country, only collections of politicians given monthly finance by a tycoon or a rich politician. The powerful Nationalist Coalition, for instance, withered after Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. passed away in 2020,“the veteran journalist added.
The other so-called members of the alliance have little in their war chest for an electoral campaign, and this will focus entirely on their own candidates, if they have—Partido Federal, Ronaldo Puno’s National Unity Party, and Tito Sotto and Jack Duavit’s [and formerly Manuel Villar’s] Nationalist Party. It’s every man for himself in this election.
But then, here’s the rub. Cognizant of the past political exercises he observed with gusto for more than two decades, Tiglao thundered: “What has emerged is the most unholy, most despicable alliance ever in Philippine history: the Marcos-Communist Party of the Philippines [CPP] alliance. Both have thrown to the dustbin any semblance of principles.
Marcos’ father fought the communists throughout his 14-year dictatorship, with the CPP even undertaking the sordid Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971 for Filipinos to blame him. On the other hand, the elder Marcos jailed and killed thousands of Party members during his regime.
Butuyan, Conti and ICC
This alliance is most clearly evident in the fact that a longtime Party cadre, Kristina Conti, a nominee of the party-list Bayan Muna, had managed to infiltrate the International Criminal Court [ICC] and get the rank of Assistant Counsel to the Prosecutor. With ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan—who in 2021 replaced the first prosecutor, Fatou Bethsouda, who went after then–president Rodrigo Duterte starting in 1918—busy in other high profile ICC cases [as those on the Gaza genocide and the Ukraine war, which he prefers, the ICC has practically given Conti the task of prosecuting Duterte.
And true to this revelation, Tiglao asked and exclaimed with disdain: “How anomalous can an ICC case be? The prosecutor is a cadre of the Communist Party against which Duterte waged an intensified campaign, leading to the decimation of the New People’s Army [NPA] from 20,000 rifles at the start of his administration to 1,500.
Conti and Butuyan were not accepted as ICC victims’ representatives—OPCV appointed instead.
The International Criminal Court [ICC] has officially designated the Office of Public Counsel for Victims [OPCV] to represent victims in its ongoing investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during former Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs.
In a clarification made by international criminal lawyer Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, he emphasized that Kristina Conti and Joel Butuyan—both Filipino human rights lawyers—have not been accepted as the official legal representatives for the victims at this stage of the proceedings.
“What they don’t tell you is that they were not accepted at this present moment in time to be representatives of the victims,” Kaufman explained. “Rather, the OPCV, which is the unit which is dedicated to representing victims of the ICC, has been appointed.”
The OPCV is a permanent unit within the ICC that provides independent legal representation to victims especially when the Court deems it necessary for neutrality, security, or efficiency. This selection signals the ICC’s intent to maintain impartiality and professional distance amid a politically charged condition.
Legal experts suggests that while Conti and Butuyan remain active advocates, their exclusion from formal representation could be due to procedural or conflict of interest concerns, raised by the Court.
