THE “honorable” members of the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod just lost their self-respect and honor, and they didn’t seem to mind it. They have been mocked and insulted in their faces by the Market Administrator, his henchmen (members of the Market Marshal Task Force) and they walked away with their tails between them.

The tong colleting market officials not only snubbed and ignored the official invitation of the city council, not once but thrice, and worse, they dictated the terms of their participation in the SP committees’ investigation – they told the councilors to write down  and to explain what they need to know! And the councilors agreed! Pathetic.

If that wasn’t meant to push the councilors over the cliff, we don’t know what to make of that arrogant response to the councilors’ respectful invitation. It looked and sounded like: “Hindi ba niyo kilala kung sino kami?”

Worse, when the city councilors decided to terminate the investigation of the complaints of the hapless vendors on merely on the say-so of Councilor Celia Lim, the mayor’s mother, they literally surrendered their authority.  After failing to make her son-mayor to decree an investigation on the illegal collections and harassment, how could she be believed that the restrictions and illegal collections would stop?

The allegations of the fish vendors are serious and have risked all to expose the shenanigans of the market officials – exacting illegal collections and limiting their livelihood to 3 hours. Yet, the honorable councilors would not even dare order the police to arrest and investigate the market officials for their criminal acts.

The Dagupan City council is controlled by crime syndicates at the city hall.  Woe to the abused small fish vendors!

Three deadlines

WHICH country in the whole wide world has three deadlines for filing of the certificate of candidacy for a public office?  Tada! The Philippines.  In our first deadline on October 8, there were 97 presidential hopefuls, 29 vice presidential bets and 157 gunning for 12 senate seats in the May 9, 2022 elections.   The second deadline is on November 15, when substitutes can come in to replace candidates withdrawing their CoCs.  Then the third and final deadline is on midday of May 9, allowing someone to substitute either a disqualified aspirant or a deceased contender for so long as the replacement and the one being substituted have the same surname.  Why it is only recently that our lawmakers have made a pitch to revise the law on this ludicrous three-deadline issue has exposed yet again the mental bankruptcy of the legislative branch.

Still, better late than never.

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