
By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
“SULOD KAMO!” (“Come in!”)
This simple catchphrase is an endearing Filipino welcoming gesture.
And this is Wantan Palanca’s simple yet heartwarming slogan as he embarks on a journey to challenge incumbent Negros Occidental’s Gov. Eugenio Jose “Bong” Lacson in the upcoming May 12, 2025 elections.
Wantan said he has adopted this slogan because it is relatable to every Negrosanon. Whoever you are, you are welcome at the capitol, and at the governor’s office. No scrutiny. No filter. No discrimination. No favoritism.
People from all walks of life are free to see him or talk to him, he said.
In this sense, “Sulod kamo” hits a raw never because some perceive the current capitol to be “choosy” or has become an “inner sanctum” only for the “qualified”, that getting in is difficult.
The truth is that not only the ordinary people are silently complaining about this but even some local chief executives.
Another thing being questioned is the capitol’s One Hospital Command (OHC) program.
OHC is a referral system. A patient cannot be brought to any of the nine provincial government-run hospitals unless a clearance to proceed has been obtained.
Some view this set-up as “anti-poor” as it leaves them to make do only with municipal or city health clinics that are mostly not so well-equipped and not so well-staffed.
“This is too much,” said Wantan, whose political career from councilor to mayor of Victorias City spanned 27 years.
Victorias having the biggest coliseum in Negros Occidental is one of his legacy projects. Solving the decades-old flooding problem in Victorias is also another astonishing feat.
His staying simple despite over two decades in government service can perhaps be deemed as another achievement. He never enriched himself while in position of power.
In the upcoming polls, Wantan deems the race he is participating as a “battle of David and Goliath”, and he is presenting himself as an alternative.
And his weapons? Just the trust and the love of the poor for him. He counts himself as one of them.
That is what makes his “Sulod kamo” slogan profound. In his journey to May 12, 2025 he wants to take the poor with him.
One with the poor. This was the brand he nurtured when he served Victorias, and he aims to take this to the provincial capitol, too./PN