What remains of the powerful dynasty in the recently concluded local and national elections are now part of the political history of Mindanao.
The clan’s patriarch Romeo Jalosjos, Sr., a former congressman in Zamboanga del Norte convicted of raping an eleven-year old girl in 1996, tried to run for mayor in Zamboanga City, but was disqualified by the Commission on Elections due to his conviction.
Many of Jalosjos’ official slate in his own Alliance of Parties for Progress which is allied with the United Nationalists Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay also lost in the elections.
Even the party list group Kapamilya ng mga Nakulong na Walang Sala founded by Jalosjos himself had been disqualified by the Commission on Elections.
The Clan
His younger brother Dominador, who was a candidate for governor in Zamboanga del Sur, had been disqualified also by the polls body for his robbery conviction in the 1970s.
Another brother, Zamboanga del Norte congressman Cesar Jalosjos also lost in the elections, and so were two nephews Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. Rommel Jalosjos and Congressman Romeo Jalosjos, Jr. – the patriarch’s sons.
Jalosjos’ daughter, Svetlana, who was running for re-election as mayor of Misamis Occidental’s Baliangao town, had been defeated. Her cousin, JJ Jalosjos, son of Cesar, who ran for mayor in Labason, also lost in the elections.
And so is Cecilia Carreon, the patriarch’s sister, who ran for mayor in Dipolog, the capital city of Zamboanga del Norte. And Marjorie Jalosjos, wife of Jalosjos Jr. who ran for congress in Zamboanga del Sur’s 2nd District.
Cesar’s daughter, Johanna Parreno, was also defeated in the congressional race in Zamboanga del Norte’s 3rd District. And Mercy Arquiza, an elderly cousin of the clan’s patriarch, ran for vice mayor in Zamboanga, but just like the others, she too, lost terribly.
Only two members of the clan managed to win the polls – Bullet Jalosjos as congressman of Zamboanga del Norte’s 1st District, and his aunt, Rosalina Jalosjos, who won the mayoralty race in the clan’s remaining stronghold, Dapitan City.
Western Mindanao Bloc
The Jalosjos patriarch has not been seen since the defeat of many of his clan members, but the devastating results of the elections sent a strong message that their clout and influence had waned and this would have a devastating effect on Presidential elections in 2016.
Jalosjos, in his previous news conferences, said he wanted to establish a strong political party in Western Mindanao that would be a force to reckon with in the Presidential elections.
But in Zamboanga City alone, Jalosjos entry in the local politics dominated for decades by the Lobregat family – the matriarch, Maria Clara Lobregat, (1998-2001; 2001-2004) who died or cardiac arrest, and her son, the current mayor, Celso Lobregat – had been a rough sailing for the wealthy patriarch because of the avalanche of disqualification cases filed against him on top of black propaganda spread by his foes.
Though Jalojos believed he would make it, the local courts all upheld the decision of the poll body in disqualifying him. His throngs of supporters and followers, believing the wealth of Jalosjos would make him win in the mayoralty race, continued to worship him, some even saying that he is the only one who could unseat Lobregat from power and bring change and eventually anchors his rule in Zamboanga.
Propaganda
Jalosjos had promised the moon. Being a traditional politician that he is, Jalosjos vowed to bring peace and development to Zamboanga and transform the city like Singapore. He even distributed publicly and bought newspaper ads outlining his 25-point Agenda.
Before elections, one loca newspaper report had quoted Jalosjos as saying: “Even if the other camp succeeds in depriving the people of Zamboanga their right to choose a new and better kind of leadership in the coming elections, I will still be here to help my team win. If they win, it’s as if I also won because they will be the ones who will implement our 25 point agenda for Zamboanga City.”
But Lobregat, who ran for congress won by a slight margin over Jalosjos’ bet, Crisanto dela Cruz, a former Catholic priest and a philanthropist who is popular among the poor. Logregat’s younger brother, Jomar, also lost in the congressional race in Zamboanga City’s 2nd District to independent candidate, Lilia Nuno.
Popular Mayor
Deputy Speaker for Mindanao, Rep. Maria Isabelle Salazar, eventually was elected as mayor of Zamboanga, winning by a landslide against another lawmaker, Erico Basilio Fabian and Albert Cajayon.
Salazar is one of the most respected political leaders not only in Zamboanga, but in southern Philippines, and has no records of corruption. Many locals believed Salazar helped Lobregat win the polls.
Lobregat’s political party Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino is allied with Salazar’s Liberal Party whose Chairman is President Benigno Aquino.
Salazar, a motherly figure to many locals, is so popular in Zamboanga that they believed she would win even without campaigning. A humble person, who was a former journalist, Salazar vowed to bring Zamboanga – popularly branded The City of Flowers and La Bella Hermosa – to a new height and ushering renewed hope for all peoples in Zamboanga – Muslims and Christian and indigenous tribes. (Mindanao Examiner)
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