Playing with Fire
Cesar Duque vs. Voltaire Arzadon
By Gonzalo Duque
BEFORE the fireworks, commendation.
We’re referring to our accolade for Rep. Pol Bataoil of the 2nd congressional district.
At the Media in Action forum last Wednesday, our man of the hour Congressman Bataoil was most impressive in answering questions. Papaano spokesman ng Philippine National Police ng ilang taon yan under Chiefs Jun Ebdane and Art Lomibao. Dealing with the media is second nature to him.
What impressed us most was his focus on environmental reforms in his district, especially in mountainous Mangatarem, beloved town of Cumpadre Al Mendoza.
Very popular among the mediafolk, Pol is their consensus for governor AFTER Spines.
He said our press club has become the talk of the town. See? Papano mo matatalo yan. Maong ed repartee.
We are both members of the MAC (Mutual Admiration Club). Mabuhay ka, pare Pol!
* * *
In our last column, we promised to drop the “atomic bomb” on a certain education official, yes, because of his own undoing.
Normally, we don’t touch on a person’s character. We are a lawyer, you know, and we know the parameters of the Libel Law.
Well, a companero told us we already dropped the bomb in our last two columns about this education official.
Bombs yes, but no atomic bomb yet. You’ll notice that last week, we were careful in not mentioning his name, but it’s inevitable that he already be named because brod Cesar, chairman of Lyceum Northwestern University, will soon go to court. He will sue Dr. Voltaire Arzadon, president of Colegio de Dagupan. (In fact, as I write this column, he, Cesar, is already on his way to Dagupan to attend to this).
I wish to stress that the case in question (Cesar Duque vs. Voltaire Arzadon) involves a simple transaction: the sale of Colegio de Dagupan owned by Arzadon to brod Cesar. Was the sale consummated? Yes, because Cesar has advanced some P20 million as part of the deal. Part of that sum, we learned, was used by Arzadon to pay his personnel. Documents of the sale were signed at the residence of Mr. Arzadon.
Three months after the sale, Mr. Arzadon, fresh from a trip to the US, unilaterally cancelled the transaction for reasons he alone knew.
If that be so, the next normal and decent he should have done was to return the money. He did not.
Efforts to collect the money proved futile. With this bizarre development, what would that make of one who is supposed to be a decent, professional and honest educator?
We could only surmise that he used the money to enhance and improve his school. We learned that he recently constructed a gym for his school. We were told he has been feverishly working to make his college a university. That’s fine.
But he should not forget his basic obligations to his fellowmen, especially to the one who dealt with him fair and square.
We were informed that a powerful politician had advised Mr. Arzadon against paying brod Cesar. Naman, naman, bakit naman ganun?
But we refuse to bite that line. We thought a politician’s interference is beside the point. We are dealing here with educator Voltaire Arzadon as a man, a former friend, professional, educator, Rotarian, and so forth.
We are dealing with honor and integrity between men of their words.
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