The invitation could not have come at a better time. First, it has been a while since when lawyer Douglas Cagas pulled the rag from under his opponent in winning as governor despite having had to campaign from jail.
Against all odds, he swamped his opponent by more than 30,000 votes.
Second, the last time I really saw him was in the 1990s when he began to dominate politics in Davao del Sur. So I was anxious how he would look like in 2017.
Except for having shrunk some or slimmed compared to the ‘Dodo’ I knew from the 1980 onwards, it was the same Douglas Cagas all right. His eyes remain sharp and the voice that once helped galvanize opposition against Marcos rule in the tumultuous days of Martial Law did not sputter a bit. There seemed nothing wrong with his memory as he recalled for instance how he passed the bar in 1967 with a passing rate of 86.85, placing 4th overall in a field of 1,083 that took the examination with only 411 making it to the list of attorneys.
Back in the mid-1980s when I was then adding pieces to my craft as a journalist, Cagas was a member of the United Opposition of Region XI opposed to Marcos rule.
He was one of the opposition’s most articulate speakers along with lawyers Larry Ilagan, Gregorio Andolana, Silvestre Bello III, Zafiro Respicio, Prospero Nograles and the likes of Ismael Sueno, Rey Magno Teves, Nanay Soling Duterte, Alexander Orcullo, and Luis T. Santos.
He was also friendly and easy to go along with as Rene B. Lumawag and I found out. His wife then (now Davao del Sur Rep. Mercedes ‘Didi’ Cagas) was simply a housewife, content to watch by the sides.
It did not come as a surprise, therefore, that when Marcos fled the palace Cagas and his contemporaries assumed responsible positions in government.
From the 1990s onwards, Cagas solidified his hold on the province of Davao del Sur and served as governor for 23 years.
He is now in his fourth term.
Yet it was not all smooth sailing. His serving a prison term for more than year after he was linked to the 2010 murder of journalist Nestor Bedolido remains a bitter memory he would rather not talk about.
It also visibly pained him that his opponents could be as vicious as to cause the destruction of the multi-million state of the art swimming pool when he was in jail.
He lamented that what took government a lot of money to fund and to realize could be pulverized to smithereens and cannibalized beyond redemption—without anyone being held accountable.
Despite this, Cagas said he was not closing the door to anybody in joining the celebration of the province’ golden anniversary “because it is not every year that we get to celebrate a 50th golden anniversary.”
He said it is also occasion to honor the province’s outstanding citizens who contributed in making the province what it is today. He added no less than President Duterte himself has agreed to speak during the celebrations, which would commence this June.
Cagas said he was backing President Duterte’s policy on illegal drugs. He explained: “The President is correct in his appreciation and understanding of the illegal drug situation.
The problem of illegal drugs has really become pervasive it does any spare any kind of family. Hence, there is need for drastic action. But as to whether or not he is right or wrong, let history be the judge.”
