Punchline
A ‘high-stakes’ debate in the city?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
I AM told that my friend Benjie, the mayor, is already on the political offensive, constantly challenging his prospective foe in the 2013 elections, Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, to a public debate on various issues on governance in the city.
Obviously, the ploy is to make people forget about his unaccounted accountabilities at this time and make people talk politics instead. I say, stage that political debate once the campaign period starts in 2013 to make it worthwhile for registered candidates and the voters. Such a debate today serves no purpose but the mayor’s.
Meanwhile, if Benjie is, indeed, raring to prove that his governance is tops through a debate at this time, would he consider debating with others who don’t have the word “Honorable” appended to their names? Perhaps, an educator or a journalist who has no ambition to succeed him as mayor, para magka-alaman na? Will he debate with either the irreverent Gonz Duque or this “tanga” journalist?
As the honorable mayor, he will have the privilege to choose between us. (My apologies to Gonz for volunteering him although I know Gonz would just be too happy to poison me so he will be the last man standing for this rare privilege to debate with a mayor-businessman with ‘vision’).
To make it more interesting for Benjie, I would suggest a tag team for him for the duration of the debate against just one of us. He can choose between Vlad Mata or Jojo Guadiz or Dindin Baniqued. (Ok ka ba, Gonz?) Sorry, I don’t suggest a tag-team with Gonz because knowing him, he can easily out-talk me and I’ll never have a chance to present my views. That will be a blow to my self-esteem).
What should the stakes be in such a debate? High stakes, of course! Without consulting Gonz, I propose that if Gonz loses by public perception, he should agree not to file any case against Lim et al. and double the amount of annual business tax that LNU normally pays the city, deservedly or otherwise. In my case, if I should lose he can start writing a weekly unexpurgated opinion column in this paper, never mind if ghost-written by one of his paid hacks in media, and I will never sue him for libel. (Sorry but the PUNCH can’t afford to pay more than what it pays in business tax annually unless it goes bankrupt. Besides, if the PUNCH becomes insolvent, Benjie’s awaited column will never ever see print, so perish the thought).
But if Benjie loses, I propose he stands in the middle of the astrodome and mimic Gloria Arroyo’s insufferable “I am sorry” a hundred times for all the sins he committed against those who voted for him in 2007, in front of the glare of lights from the local media, particularly USATV. No need to return whatever was lost by the city during his two stints as mayor.
So, let’s hear it from the big guy! Debate or no debate? Do I hear the gallery inside city hall cheering him on? “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Bring it on, Mr. Mayor!
* * * * *
So the Abros Realty of Engr. Oscar Arcinue formally withdrew its offer to buy the MC Adore property. Personally, I believe the decision is correct for it relieved itself of a potential pesky political problem had it pursued its legitimate offer.
In his letter, Engr. Arcinue described his frustration over the manner with which the city government handled his proposal. Unknown perhaps to him, his timely withdrawal, in fact, saved his prestigious company from being used as a pretext by some officials in the city hall to line their pockets with illegal profits.
His company was lured into offering a tender for the property by the city hall that concealed the fact that no such plan to sell was even broached at the city council level. But as Mr. Lim boasted to local newsmen during a forum of the Pangasinan Press Cub, that “as a businessman” he knew what’s good for the city. That statement unwittingly hinted of the real agenda behind the keen interest of Mayor Benjie Lim to get an authorization from the city council to negotiate the sale of the property with interested buyers as evidenced by Abros’ initial offer.
Then, Mayor Lim’s surprise confession in the same media forum that he deemed the Abros offer as too low to be considered, again, unwittingly revealed his insincerity in dealing with Abros. (Note: Mr. Lim made the statement evidently in reaction to this corner’s initial impression that he appeared to have undue interest in the immediate sale of the property). Logic 101 dictates that if Mr. Lim, as a businessman, already knew that the Abros offer was too low to be considered from the very beginning, one cannot but wonder why he even bothered endorsing the offer to the city council to the extent of prodding the city council to act on it with dispatch, with the caveat that the mayor be given authorization to negotiate the sale? Aaah… the plot thickens.
Shortly after his statement, Mr. Lim endorsed another letter proposal from the Managen Development Corporation to the city council whose offer was bit higher but still reportedly lower than the zonal value, in an obvious effort to support his claim contra Abros offer. I have no doubt Managen was also lured into making a tender as well if only to make the proposition of selling the property interesting enough to the city council and be pressured into giving him a blanket authorization to negotiate the sale of MC Adore with whoever. For the record, there was no mention of pubic bidding in his earlier official communications to the city council.
This is why many businessmen, among them Mr. Lim’s not too surprised friends, are almost certain that Mr. Lim will not let such an opportunity pass without gaining from it personally. Some even believe that he would have a side-agreement for an equity on the property once the sale is concluded with his imprimatur. Such faith in a friend, don’t you think?
So, on hindsight, Abros did the correct thing to withdraw, determined not to be used by unscrupulous city officials for their illegal agenda noting the unprofessional manner with which its offer was being handled.
There’s an upright business group for you.
* * * * *
KAPITANS’ FOLLY. Our story last week on the missing P3.1 M fund allocated to the Dagupan City barangay chairmen for the clearing of esteros should be looked into without delay by the city council.
I say this with a note of urgency because the rash of dengue cases in the city says a lot about the failure of the barangays to mitigate the situation in their respective communities.
It will be recalled that the city hall and the barangay kapitans were one in singing one tune to defend their overseas lakbay aral as being covered by their personal funds after The PUNCH reported the suspected use of barangay fund for their personal tour of Singapore. Little did they realize that the sudden rise in dengue cases in the city would belie their claim because it’d be obvious by then that funds intended to prepare barangays against dengue were not used for the purpose these were allocated.
I think the city hall occupants ought to be warned that constant lying to the people begets karma. See how persistent lying by the former occupants of Malacanang are paying for their lies today? Serious health risks that cannot stand up to a truth-seeking people.
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LIFE-SAVING MEASURES. Besides deaths from landslides, more lives are lost to drowning after being swept away by flood waters. This is a fact, however, that continues to be ignored by Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils. There is no better preparation for a community than to prepare the residents for actual dangers posed by rampaging floodwaters.
The councils can better prepare residents in flood prone areas and coastal communities by organizing basic swimming lessons to all children and to train corps of barangay first-aid teams on how to attempt to revive and save drowning victims.
Saving life is as basic as that. No scientific gobbledygook needed to teach it.
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