POLITICAL RARITY

POLITICAL RARITY

It is uncommon in the Philippines. In fact it is the first that something like it happened. It is so rare an incident that some skeptics were quietly disappointed. I am referring to the peaceful take-over by Mayor Joy Peñano who was vindicated several years after filing a protest against the result of the last election that originally proclaimed Ver Varias as winner.

From the very start of the protest there were only wild talks and wilder jokes but there were never great fights between political opponents and followers. In other municipalities, situations like this results to many quarrels and misunderstandings sometimes resulting to killings – but not in Alfonso, our town which has always been relatively peaceful as proven during the Second World War.

Local residents attributed it to the miraculous intercession of the town’s Patron Saint, John Nepomucene. During the Japanese occupation the neighboring towns were all heavily disturbed but the town of Alfonso remained peaceful and surprisingly festive. Social organizations did not run out of interesting activities for everyone. As a result the damage of war was minimal though the Japanese also stayed there for quite sometime.

In 1934 the elected Mayor Juan Mojica, Sr. won only one vote over his opponent, Laureano Rosanes but there was no commotion. Everybody seemed to trust everyone so genuinely that the result wasn’t protested or discussed further.


Going back further before Alfonso was established as a separate town from Mother Indang there was very strong oppositions between Don Bonifacio Aveo and Don Felix del Mundo in choosing the site to be made the Poblacion. Aveo was sponsoring Taywanak (Malaking Bayan) because it is the meeting point between Indang, Maragondon, Magallanes and Bailen, while del Mundo was backing Pajo because it is directly connected to Indang. Both were established political leaders and no one would give way. During the heat of the controversy Don Herminigildo Aviñante, a civic leader, offered Alas-as as a compromise solution since it is located in a neutral point. Both Aveo and del Mundo readily accepted the suggestion and since then Alfonso has always been peaceful.

At present the peace and tranquility of the place is possibly because it remained a virgin after all those years gone-by. There are no factories and business establishments that usually attracts workers from far places and since there are few outsiders there are no beer gardens or red houses. Staying in Alfonso is simply an experience in Paradise. Thanks both to Mayor Joy Peñano and Ex-mayor Ver Varias