I went to Binangonan last Thursday afternoon.
My first stop was at the office of Mayor Boyet Ynares.
There were many people waiting outside and inside, or maybe they work there, or others are waiting for the mayor to see them.
I didn’t expect that there would be that many people. I didn’t know what to do. I felt uneasy to cut the line so to speak. I stood near the door for a minute to catch my breath. Then I approached one of the staff..
A———- “Si mayor?”
A———- “Paki sabi si Annie, Annie Tan”.
Staff entered the mayor’s office and came back after 6 seconds. “Pasok kayo”.
Mayor Boyet was sitting at his desk. The minute he saw me, he stood up and walked towards me. He sat instead at the visitor’s chair.
The first thing that he asked me was “kumain ka na ba?” Actually hindi pa ako kumakain pero hindi ako gutom at nahihiya naman ako doon makikain. He thought pala I would come for lunch kaya marami daw siyang pinaluto na mga isda. Ginataang biya, etc. I purposely came after lunch because baka maalangan sya kung uuwi sya for lunch. Yun pala nagpa handa at akala nya duon ako kakain.
Lalo tuloy ako nahiya. I just promised next time I would come for lunch.
He asked me “gusto mo bang gulaman at sago?” Of course.
Kuya Ben was like that too, when he was still alive, the first thing that he would ask me every time I came to visit was “Kumain ka na ba. Or gusto mo ba ng puto-bumbong, gusto mo ba ng buko, gusto mo ba ng pansit…”. Ganyan din naman ang mama ko, ang papa ko. Siguro ganyan din ako.
I spent a total of 2 1/2 hours at the mayor’s office. I felt so guilty because he was busy, working in between our kwentuhan. Signing vouchers, documents, reading letters, answering phone calls. Merong sunog sa Tayuman. Mayor Boyet patiently explained to the caller “ang tawag dyan ay bushfire or grass fire…..
magpapadala ako ng bumbero”. He instructed his staff to send a firetruck. “Mayor, nakatawag na daw ho ng bumbero 30 minutes ago”.
The police chief called to inform him that there were some young adults caught in Pilapila playing karacruz. The municipal jail is under renovation. He instructed the guy on the other line to put them in the police detachment’s jail for a few hours then let them go. It’s just to teach them a lesson.
A———– “Mayor, hands-on na hands-on ka pala”.
Mayor——- “Yung ngang hands-on ako may nakakalusot pa, ano pa kaya kung hindi ako hands-on”.
We both laughed.
There’s a CCTV monitoring system in one corner of his room. He told me more cameras are being installed around town. That’s very good actually. It would deter crime, and help identify perpetrators.
He introduced me to every person that entered his room. Councilors, Sanggunian, Attorneys, Engineers, etc. The good thing was, 80% already knew me. Yung isa batchmate ng Kuya Junior, yung isa classmate ng Kuya Romy, “ka-eskwela ako ng Kuya Ben mo”, said one guy. Yung isang councilor, Isidro Pacis, Jr. was the son of the former mayor(+)of Binangonan. I helped him get a discount daw and endorsed him for the use of our village’s clubhouse for the baptismal of his daughter 7 years ago. I didn’t remember naman. A few are actually distant relatives. Kalapitbahay, kamag-anak, kaibigan, in other words, iisa ang aming pinanggalingan, that’s why I felt at home and at ease. Si mayor naman ay sobrang close sa Kuya Ben, magka barkada sa kapilyuhan nung mga bata pa sila.
Mayor——- “Gusto mo bang tumakbo sa public office?”.
Me———- “Galit ka ba sa akin? Ngayon nga ang daming nangungutang sa akin lalo na kung tatakbo pa ako. Wala akong pera”.
He laughed.
Kasi daw meron akong puso para sa mga kababayan ko. Meron nga akong puso pero wala naman akong perang ipamimigay.
A——-“Mayor nung isang beses merong nangungutang sa akin, ang sabi ko dun ka kay Mayor pumunta”.
He laughed again.
Bagay sa kanya yung trabaho nya, napaka tyaga nyang mag-explain sa mga tao. Napaka attentive nya sa mga pumupunta doon, pasensyoso, at malumanay mag salita. Matulungin din. Sanay na sanay na rin sya sa mga kababayan na laging naka sahod. Bungisngis din.
