There is no corruption in Dagupan

NO, that is not our contention. That’s the claim of the Dagupan City’s administrator. Hearing him say it with a straight face makes us believe that the city officials have already coined a slogan, a new adage in the city’s governance – “If you are able to fool the people once, then you can fool them all the time.” What cheek!

Of course, there is rampant corruption in the city hall. The city hall employees know it and so does the city administrator, Mr. Rafael Baraan, who was in his uncanny self when he hinted where and how the city hit big time in corruption – the Landbank loans! While trying to sound apologetic that the Lim administration could not provide any more than it already has because of limited funds, he used it as the convenient alibi to justify the multi-million loans it took out. For the people, Mr. Baraan said. What gall!

We challenge Mayor Benjamin Lim, Mr. Baraan and their ilk to tell the Dagupeños how the more than P405 million loans helped the Dagupeños. They ought to explain how the P315 million loan for a new market has helped the market vendors who have since abandoned it. Or how the city government has managed to prevent any flooding in any part of the city since it acquired another P46 million loan for an overpriced brand new dredging machine. And more, let’s hear them explain why the services of the city’s emergency employees who have been doing a yeoman’s job delivering the basic services to the Dagupeños, have been sacrificed in  favor of  their favorite consultants.

The  truth of  the matter is the multi-million loans provided the Dagupan City officials, not their constituents, the grand opportunity to advance kickbacks which otherwise could only be earned in at least another 3 years in government that is if we go by old standards of graft and corruption in government.

The Asian Institute of Management and the Commission on Audit have records to indicate that graft and corruption in the city is rampant. But what do Messrs. Lim and Baraan have to show? Sneers on their faces believing they have fooled the city folk one more time. What hypocrisy!

No, Mr. Baraan, not even the contrived smiles on the faces of the employees can ever remove the stench of corruption that follows Dagupan City officials wherever they go.