Three months before the May 12 national elections, agriculture, law and order, and environment were the leading topics in news and commentary programs at major local radio stations in Cagayan province.

Cagayan is a frontline province in the South China Sea conflict. It hosts two sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 2014 agreement where the US military is given access to military and air bases. 

Despite international attention, the sea dispute is barely in the local news. It has largely been a national concern, based on PCIJ’s monitoring and interviews. 

The issue became a hot button topic in 2023 when Gov. Manuel Mamba opposed the selection of his province for the EDCA sites.

The local discourse has since died down, however, according to media workers interviewed by PCIJ. 

“It used to be part of the discussions before. Now it has died down because the group that opposed it, the League of Municipal Mayors, is now part of the slate of the governor. They seem to agree on the matter,” Marvin Cangcang, broadcaster for the Bombo Radyo Tuguegarao, an AM radio station in the capital of Cagayan, told PCIJ in Filipino.

Mamba, who is in his third and last consecutive term, is running for vice-governor. He is the running mate of former national police chief Edgar Aglipay.

Aglipay and his rival for governor, Vice Gov. Melvin Vargas Jr., have their own shows in Bombo Radyo Tuguegarao, one of the media outlets with wide audience reach.  

Another candidate for governor, Dr. Zara Lara, also gets media space in the family-owned FM radio station in Peñablanca town.  

Cangcang said it’s important to discuss West Philippines Sea issues in their local broadcast, but he said the issue remains to be a national election concern more than a local one. 

“It’s important to explain this to the people because as Filipinos it’s important for the Cagayanons to know where to stand on issues and how to use this as a guide in electing national officials,” he said. 

Benjamin de Yro, editor-in-chief of Northern Bulletin, a local newspaper in Tuguegarao, echoed this sentiment.  

“As far as the people are concerned, wala lang e. Ang general attitude dito, ang perception ko, they just don’t care. Siguro sa level ng senatorial [aspirants], not even in the congressional, national [issue] ’yan eh. It can never be a local issue na pwedeng talakayin ng politicians,” he said.

“Dinidiscuss din yan [EDCA sites], pero for the ordinary men, iisipin mo ba ang EDCA kung ang important ay maghanap ng makakain mo araw-araw? That is the actual situation (EDCA sites are part of the discussion. But will EDCA matter if your priority is where to find food every day? That is the actual situation),” he said. 

Cagayan remains to be an agriculture-driven province. Government-owned radio stations like Radyo Pilipinas Tuguegarao and dzDA of Department of Agriculture Region 2 focus on providing agricultural information in their daily broadcast as part of their mandate. 

Last year Cagayan was hit by powerful storms and massive flooding that damaged crops and infrastructure. In the last quarter of 2024, GMA Regional TV News reported that Cagayan alone suffered P2 billion worth of agricultural damage wrought by typhoons and flooding.

Father Ranhillo Aquino, a law professor at the Cagayan State University in Tuguegarao, said the candidates in the May local elections should be scrutinized on their stand on the issue.

“I’d want them (candidates) to make it clear that none of them supports China. I want them to leave no doubt that none of them supports China,’’ Aquino told PCIJ. 

Aglipay dismissed concerns, echoing his running mate’s position. “The students here, they have documents from immigration. The investors here, they have documents from immigration and foreign affairs.’’  — PCIJ.org