Punchline
Mayor Belen, the real “Drugbuster”?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
FINALLY, Dagupan has a mayor who is prepared to wage a real war against druglords for the sake of the city’s families whose bonds are threatened everyday by the effects of illegal drugs. Hopefully, with Mayor Belen Fernandez finally donning her armor and shield, the city will still see the day when drug pushers and financiers and their protectors are hauled to jail.
Staring straight into her eyes already are the “untouchable protectors” (yes, known to the city police) of the illegal trade in Bonuan Binloc and Bonuan Gueset. They never had it so good under the previous administration, so it is likely that they will not make it easy for Mayor Belen to do a Joan of Arc. PDEA describes the two villages semantically as “seriously affected.” In our book, these two communities are simply big filthy drug dens protected by corrupt barangay officials and some rogue cops on the take.
It is also no secret that the community association officials and political leaders in those two barangays have succeeded in protecting the illegal drug trade over the past decade. Each time, a public cry reached the city hall, former Mayor Benjie Lim would call in the acknowledged Muslim association leaders for a photo-op of a “covenant-signing for peace” reiterating “full cooperation” in fighting the drug menace. In some occasions, even teachers and civic groups were herded to the scripted “covenant-signing” to give the illusion that the city hall is solving the drug problem.
Without a doubt, previous city hall occupants and a number of councilors cashed in on the protection racket that exposed Dagupeños to the clutches of the vile scumbags in the shabu trade.
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THE DRUGLORDS ON THE SPOT. From where I sit, I noted that through the years, the city police (and PDEA) operations have been limited to spotting the drug peddlers in the streets, never the suppliers, never the protectors! Let’s pray that from hereon, druglords are finally exposed for what they are and jailed, leaving the drug peddlers’ well to dry up forever.
No less than Dangerous Drugs Board Bebot Villar already identified the barangay officials whom the city police and PDEA know to be protecting the syndicates during Mr. BSL’s term and yet, none of those officials were picked up even for a simple interrogation over a cup of coffee.
As the campaign levels up which we pray will happen soon, we can expect competition among the druglords to come into play. There will be “vigilantes” (kuno) killings that will be attributed conveniently to the government campaign when in fact elimination of competition is what it’s all about. (But as Mr. Deretsahan “Bebot”Villar, once commented in his column – “Sige magubusan kayo! (something to that effect).
So, for the sake of hundreds of parents in the city who continue to pray for the complete and successful rehabilitation of their children who have been trapped into using illegal drugs, let’s hope Mayor Belen will not ever back down in this war, that she may always have the moral courage to cross swords with the “untouchables” of the drug syndicate operating in the city and in the province.
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NO TO NOTORIETY. Ditto for Guv Spines who launched what appeared to be a formidable front in the campaign against illegal drugs last year. To our dismay, no financier/supplier has been arrested under his direction!
PDEA’s recent report indicates that Guv Spines’ Pangasinan remains a hotbed for illegal drugs north of Manila! That’s certainly a notoriety for the province that Guv Spines can ill afford to have under his watch!
Again, with prayers from Archbishop Soc Villegas and unwavering commitment from P/Sr. Supt. Sterling Blanco (and P/Supt. Christopher Abrahano for the city) let us hope the good will completely triumph over the evil in this life and death campaign vs. druglords in the province (and in the city).
Yes, all we can do is to hope and pray for our leaders to do what is right, just and legal, not tomorrow but today!
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QUO VADIS VP BINAY? There is an open letter written by Sen. Alan Cayetano challenging Vice President Jojo Binay to make a categorical statement condemning the pork barrel scam perpetrated by government officials and to vow to see to it that the guilty are punished, whether they are his political allies or not.
The vice president is capable of being very outspoken against anything and anyone named in any shenanigan, i.e., former President GMA, Delfin Lee, SC Justice Renato Corona, rice smugglers, etc. But why is he muted in the pork barrel scam that has angered the whole nation?
Indeed, not a few have noted that the vice president has been most unusually quiet and reserved if not completely tempered in denouncing those implicated in the scam by official documents, namely Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Bong Revilla.
Yet, surveys show that if elections were held today, Mr. Binay will make a clean sweep of the presidential election. For this reason, Mr. Cayetano dares to ask Mr. Binay to make his stand known how he will take to the trial of his political allies. Will he be the kind of president who will consistently stand for the right, not someone who will compromise the truth and the law for the sake of political expediency and convenience?
Indeed, the question uppermost in minds of growing involved citizenry is – Will we be seeing the continuation of “My loyalty to my country ends where my loyalty to my friends begin” under a Binay presidency?
I pray not!
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LESSON IN ACCOUNTABILITY. Mayor Belen told the city on Dagupan’s foundation day that her administration will seek the return of the P16-M from Mr. Jose Mariano Cuña, the seller of the 33-hectare farmland to the city but failed to transfer the title to the city.
This is clearly one transaction of the city government that has to be corrected if only to send the signal to all and sundry that one cannot get away defrauding the government with impunity. Mr. Cuña certainly has a lot of explaining to do.
Offhand, there were reports that it was Mr. Tony Uy, Mr. BSL’s loyal sidekick, who facilitated the sale of the farmland to Mr. Cuña. He should also be made to account what he knew about the pending cases filed before the Department of Agrarian Reform when he facilitated the sale first to Mr. Cuña then to the Lim administration.
In addition, then city legal officers Geraldine Baniqued and Roy Laforteza, now the assistant city legal officer, should be made to explain the circumstances how and why the city paid for the farmland when there were pending claims on the land. Above all, they should be made to explain why they allowed the city government to lose in the claim by default! This is criminal neglect and dereliction of duty at the very least.
If the city council (headed by Vice Mayor Brian Lim) will refuse to act on this blatantly graft-ridden scandalous project, let’s call on the newly organized Dagupan City Civil Society Non-Government Organization Federation led by Liberato Reyna Jr., to show the way!
Nothing would inspire the citizenry more than to see selfless leaders who have nothing to gain but the satisfaction of having stood up to be counted in the fight for good governance!
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