Cagayan de Oro leaders favor Barack Obama for US President

November 4, 2008

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

As American citizens votes today for their next president, a number of Cagayan de Oro city residents weighed in on who their favorites are and how their choice may just affect the future of the country and even their own neighborhood.
Office of Muslim Affairs regional director Atty. Ombra Gandamra said they are supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama rather than the Replubican counterpart John McCain.
“We are supporting Obama, reason is for a change both in foreign and economic policies. There is great impact in our country politically and economically, hence, Cagayan de Oro will be affected,” he said.
National Telecommunications Commission regional director Teodoro Buenavista for his part also favors Obama for change of leadership.
He said Obama’s “youthful energy and new politics will definitely change the geopolitical landscape while cagayan deOro and the country will benefit the perceived shift to or change in geopolitics.”
Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Misamis Oriental Chapter vice-president Atty. Dale Mordeno said he too is for Obama for the latter’s socialist views.
He cited in particular Obama’s message on the “redistribution of wealth to all” saying that Cagayan de Oro city may benefit if our local leaders will share the same convictions.
Atty. Koko Pimentel for his part also supports Obama as the latter would be “more understanding to minority or non-white concerns” and that the Philippines will indirectly benefit with this more understanding US president.
But that Cagayan de Oro, he said there is no direct tangible benefit except that local residents would best see in Obama an example of how a great leader should be.
Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives-Northern Mindanao general manager Dave Pajaron for his part said he too is for the Democratic Party’s presidential bet because of Obama’s stand against immigrant and his stand against war on Iraq.
“For Cagayan de Oro and maybe in Mindanao as a whole assistantce through USAID and GEM,” he said.
Xavier University-Association of Law Students former president Kristin Ilya Ravanera and Mindanao Youth Volunteer Corps, Inc. president Rhobert Maestre shared their passion on how they too favor Obama over McCain.
For both youth leaders, Obama’s idealisms are something they can easily identify and relate too as compared to McCain’s “outdated and erratic views.”
Transportation Federation of Cagayan de Oro chairperson Epifanio Tamiok said their group is “passive” on the US elections unless they receive an advisory from their national affiliations considering that whoever sits as the next US president may have some impact on the supply, demand and prices of gasoline in the world market and thus, affect the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, a Roman Catholic priest who requested anonymity sent this text message, “In terms of political and economic policies, I am for Obama. But I have reservations with his stand on the rights of rape victims to having the choice to abort their babies conceived out of their respective rape incident.”