Rep. Arlene Bag-ao of Akbayan party-list has downplayed her chances of winning as a representative of Dinagat Islands in the 2013 polls even if she has been named caretaker of those islands.

Bag-ao, who has assumed the duties as the representative of Dinagat Islands after former rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr.’s conviction on three graft cases that led to his expulsion as a House of Representative member, expressed such sentiments a day after Rep. Ma. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay of Zambales province warned the current administration of using the Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel, as a political tool.

As caretaker, Bag-ao received P140-million pork for years 2011 and 2012 for the perusal of the people of Dinagat Islands. Bag-ao said that the funding was used for: medical assistance to the Caraga Regional Hospital for indigent patients, local orthopedic hospitals’ purchase of barangay medical kits for barangay health workers, assistance for the Surigao State College, technology scholarship from the Commission on Higher Education as well as roads, water systems, multipurpose buildings and sea walls.

 “Those who think that a few months of me serving as caretaker would tilt the balance in my favor is obviously unfamiliar with how powerful the Ecleos are. They are well entrenched and there are even rumors that they are reviving their private army. This is not giving me undue advantage. This is like being given a stick to slay a dragon,” Bag-ao, also a lawyer, argued.

“My appointment is simply due to the fact that I am from Dinagat. I grew up here, and none of the representatives could claim that they know the province,” she added.

Bag-ao has been named the Dinagat Islands’ caretaker by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., because Bag-ao is a native of Dinagat. Moreover, Bag-ao is the lone sitting Cogress member who hails from Dinagat.

Dinagat Islands has Glenda Ecleo as governor, the mother of the expelled lawmaker. The former lawmaker is also the leader of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, a religious organization, which is influential in Dinagat and ran by  the Ecleos.

Akbayan, on the other hand, is a group, which backed President Benigno Aquino’s administration.

“The strength of my candidacy doesn’t rest on the fact that I have ties to the administration.

Local politics is different. Dina-gat is like the Ecleos’ republic. If I am going to win in Dinagat, it won’t be through this appointment. I think it would be due to my track record as a community organizer, considering that I have been a part of the crusade of the Sumilao farmers,” Bag-ao, who served as a counsel for the Sumilao farmers who walked from Davao to Manila to demand land distribution, pointed out.

“I come from a political tradition where pork barrel is seen not as a tool for patronage. If I had it my way, I would like the pork barrel abolished. But Dinagat has been deprived of development projects and has been severely neglected,” Bag-ao added in closing.