your story reminds me of the movie HOTFUZZ. hehe

but his skills was also used to promote and advance his own family and friends interests. during his tenure sa SBMA chairman, a voter’s ID was required for application of employment. why? non supporters cannot advance their business. most business owners in Gapo are either relatives or relatives of politicians allied with him.

he used his position so he could control everybody more than just the votes. if you voted for another candidate other than his, you will be disenfranchised and be cast out of the city government’s services. it would only stop until you can vouch that you will be one of them.

here’s one thing: if I voted for FPJ and GMA wins, does that mean GMA is not my president anymore?

there was no angry mob. like I said there were hundred of cops. and we are peaceful. in fact we never even got our rally. they (the mob) were waiting for us in the shadows. we didn;t know we were about to get ambushed.

besides, it was in the vicinity of the olongapo public market, way way further from the vicinity of the SBMA. and you know what, the APEC meet was being held somewhere in Triboa Bay, in the mountainous area inside SBMA. SBMA itself has gates where nobody can pass through. and the gate is way way too far from where we are.

the JFK is always debatable up to now. heheh. but nothing happens in Olongapo that he did not know. like I said, the presence of Gordon organizations everywhere in Gapo serves him more than just one purpose. it is meant to protect his votes base. and it also serves as his civilian monitoring groups. kaya kapag me hindi pabor sa patakaran nya, alam na agad nila.

being residents of Olongapo, our main issue was Gordon’s, and the APEC issue was just coincidental.

i would understand if the police were the one who repressed our right to assembly, you can say then that it is part of the security of the APEC organizing teams. but in fact no. those who did us harm were Gprdon hooligans who were fanatics working at the palengke. and we had information that they were indeed paid to do it.

the hospital was run by the city government and its administrator was personally picked by Gprdon himself.

not only was it an issue of command responsibility, but political repression in Olongapo is a way of life and a culture of fear prevails. nobody can do anything contrary to what Gordon believes, otherwise, they will be in big trouble.

we can always argue that it was not Gordon nor his family themselves who ordered it, must be the loyal followers who don’t want their “leader” to get compromised. but the presence of city hall and SBMA-owned vehicles to carry these hooligans would have anybody think, “who then ordered it?”

i would write in the future more in this i’m saying the culture of fear. and maybe you would think twice about Gordon.

That’s the sad part of being a manager. That’s the sad part of being an administrator of a center as big as the Subic Bay Freeport. You want to generate employment opportunities therefore you have to make hard decisions. Some of these decisions may benefit some and be detrimental to others. But a good manager will not lose focus of the very reason of his office. As manager your task is to find the best option for your people and the business. It may not satisfy every single sector of the society (nothing ever does) but a decision has to be made.

Gordon was the manager at that time and as such, it was his duty to make those hard decisions – hold the APEC because Subic Bay Freeport was ready and able to go global with or without the American servicemen. From his point of view, perhaps he just wanted to take the effort of the people of Olongapo to a higher level. I think he knows that not everybody will agree. But that’s why I admire Gordon. Because he was not afraid to make hard decisions. Mahirap sa leaders natin yung gustong i please ang every sector of the society kaya in the end walang nagagawa. Status quo is not an option in a nation as divided as ours.