Drug test? Sure, but let’s have expertise test, integrity test, diligence test, too
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 10 May) – A candidate for first district representative took on the challenge of another candidate to take a drug test but Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana wants more tests to determine who can best serve the people.
Maglana said she would be willing to undergo a drug test “of course, but may I also say pwede dili langdrug test? Pwede (can we have more than a drug test? Can we also have an) expertise test, integrity test, transparency test, competence test, sipag (diligence) test and other types of tests which are very important para makapaglingkod ng maayos sa mamamayan?” (so we can serve well our people)?
“Aanhin mo naman ang isang (drug) test na pinasa mo pero (What will you do with a test you passed if) you fail in the others?,” she told reporters at the “Women of Peace Taking a Stand,” a gathering of women leaders mostly in their 60s, 70s and 80s, in support of Maglana, along Roxas Avenue and later Claro M. Recto St. late Thursday afternoon.
Maglana, a peace and development worker and independent consultant, is an Independent candidate running against Rep. Paolo Duterte (Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod) who is seeking a third term, PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Ignacia “Migs” Nograles, Pastor Janeth Jabines and businessman Rex Labis.
Councilor Bernard Al-Ag, who is running for Vice Mayor against Mayor Sebastian Duterte, took a drug test Thursday and challenged the mayor and other candidates to take a drug test, too, “for the peace of mind of the Dabawenyos.”
“It’s important that with the elections drawing near, the people should know that our elected officials are not drug users,” Al-ag said.
Al-ag took over as Vice Mayor in January 2018 after Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte resigned. He served until 2019 and was succeeded by Paolo’s brother, Sebastian, a first-time candidate who ran unopposed. Sebastian filed his certificate of candidacy for reelection as Vice Mayor in 2021 but withdrew and ran for mayor when his sister, then mayoralty bet Sara, opted to run for Vice President.
Al-ag also challenged the mayor to a debate.
Speaking at the rally along Fatima Street here on Wednesday evening, Mayor Duterte said he is being criticized by his opponents for having no platform.
“Ingon nila, wala ko’y plataporma. Pero naa ko’y resulta. Plataporma? Balik-balik lang man na (They say I have no platform. But I have results. Platform? That’s just a repetition), he said.
He dismissed Al-ag’s challenge to a drug test and called instead for a dance off, then did some dance steps.
There are five Dutertes running in the May 12 polls: the patriarch Rodrigo Roa Duterte, presently detained at The Hague in the Netherlands, for his eighth term as mayorl; Sebastian for Vice Mayor, Paolo for 1st district representative, Paolo’s eldest son Omar, for 2nd district representative, and another son, Rodrigo II, for councilor. Two other Dutertes are incumbents: Vice President Sara and Paolo’s wife January, barangay captain of Catalunan Grande and as chair of the Association of Barangay Captains, sits as Councilor.
Two other Dutertes are incumbents: VP Sara and Paolo’s wife January, barangay captain of Catalunan Grande and chair of the Association of Barangay Captains who sits as Councilor.
Women of Peace
Calling themselves the Women of Peace, at least 20 of them, mostly in their 70s and 80s, came in blue, the color of Mags’ campaign, and gathered along Roxas Avenue before moving to Claro M. Recto where more jeepney passengers were passing. The “wisdom women” or “super seniors,” as they refer to themselves, did their “silent rally” with huge streamers screaming to express their support for Maglana, who challenged the incumbent Representative Paolo Duterte in 2022 and is now challenging dynasty members Paolo from the dominant Duterte dynasty, and Migs from the returning Nograles dynasty, and two others.
A nun from the group approached jeepneys to hand over to passengers Maglana flyers and flowers. Norma Javellana, a Datu Bago awardee, also did the same, urging passengers to vote for Maglana. She also pitched her own choices of senatorial candidates – Bam Aquino, Luke Espiritu, Kiko Pangilinan and whatever names she could say in the brief interaction.
Agnes Miclat-Cacayan told MindaNews the decision to gather for Mags “came about instantly” during a coming together of the Women of Peace, the core group of the Women in White, who, 25 years ago, during the Estrada administration’s “all-out war,” did a silent protest – clad in white and standing at street corners of the city at noontime — every day for 40 days, to demand an end to war.
“We’re almost like a barkada, the sisterhood. We are writers, we are child advocates, we are IP advocates, we are even madres (nuns) and book authors, book writers. Pero last time, we said, what can we do for Mags?,” she said. According to her, it did not matter if there would be only five of them who would join the rally. In 2000, it did not matter if they were just two or three. In 2025, they gathered at around 25.
Cacayan called on fellow Dabawenyos not to miss this chance to have a “very good candidate” who has the intelligence, heart, integrity, “who truly will represent us, who has the heart to represent us, our voices as Dabawenyos in District 1.”
Jett Belo Goddard, also in her 70s, said they are supporting Mags because she is “competent and committed to the people.”
“And ang pinakadako for me, for us, sa women, nga we are presenting an alternative to the traditional politicians,” she said.
Representatives from another women’s group, the Forum for Truth and Honesty by Women for Integrity, Transformation and Hope (FORTHWITH), also joined the rally.
FORTHWITH on Thursday sent media outlets a statement in support of Maglana as “the best candidate” for congressional representative for her “passion for transparency and accountability in government as well as finding solutions to city-wide concerns affecting the majority of Dabawenyos.”
“Dynastic rule has characterized Davao City politics, not only by the Dutertes but by other political opponents contesting the status quo. To effectively challenge the status quo, however, voters should not choose between which family or dynasty is better but which candidate is the best,” FORTHWITH said.
3 requests to voters
Maglana later arrived at the gathering to thank the Women for Peace for helping her campaign.
Maglana has no campaign rallies. She goes to communities in District 1 for face-to-face meetings and tapok-tapok (small gatherings) to introduce herself, talk about her platform and to ask them about their situation, their hopes, their dreams, and what legislations they want passed, among others.
She told reporters that in her conversations with residents, “I close with three requests. Hangyo lang, hangyo. And kini nga mga hangyo, mga pamaaagi nga mas mapakusog pa ang ilang power” (Request, just a request. And this request is a way to strengthen their power).
She said her first “hangyo” is for voters, before they shade their votes, to pause and look back at their children, nephews and nieces and grandchildren, because “sila maka-feel sa consequence sa inyong boto, ang mga musunuray nato” (they are the ones who will feel the consequences of your vote, the generations after us).
Her second request is for the voters to please not vote for the same family names.
“Ngano man na? Kay sa demokrasya, mas maayo man na nga lain-lain nga mga baruganan, klase-klase nga mga kakayahan, klase-klase nga mga expertise and panglantaw, no, and mutango man ang mga tao” (Why? Because in a democracy, it is better if we have different stands, varied competencies, expertise and views, and the people nod). They see the wisdom of that.”
Her third request is for voters, after the May 12 elections, to hold the politicians accountable not just for the promises they made but for their responsibilities as officials. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
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Mags Maglana campaign: no rallies, just house-to-house, face-to-face and tapok-tapok
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