By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

NOW that the May 9 elections have decided what’s in store for Dagupan City, the majority group at the Sanggunian Panlungsod must act and finally give its imprimatur to the proposed 2022 budget for the city on June 28 at the very least.

Recall that outgoing Mayor Brian Lim wanted the city councilors to approve his bloated  2022 budget “without looking” months before the May 9 elections.  But since his defeat at the polls, he now desperately wants to block the same budget to prevent incoming Mayor Belen Fernandez from benefitting from it, by directing department heads to boycott the budget hearings. He is clearly grasping at straws. The 2022 budget is already beyond his reach and he can only blame himself for this.

From where I sit, I see the continued boycott to be ironically working against his new political agenda after losing his reelection bid. A continued boycott will, in fact, now hasten the approval of the bloated budget en toto “without looking” because the department heads are ordered not to participate in the deliberations.

Unfortunately for the department heads, it is they who will be left holding the bag by July 1. They will be made, or should be made to explain their belligerence in ignoring the Sanggunian Panlungsod’s hearings on the city’s annual budget by incoming Mayor Belen Fernandez.

In case the department heads concerned are not aware, their unprofessional conduct is violative of the civil service code as public employees. Their refusal to appear in the budget hearings could very well be labeled as dereliction of duty on their part.

Have they forgotten that it is the duty as members of the finance committee to account for their work?

Then, take the case of Market Supervisor Aguedo Sta. Maria whose budget is also in question. He must be made to account why he refused to attend SP hearings on the reported extortion racket being perpetrated by his market marshals. An administrative case must be brought against him for covering up the criminal activities in his office.

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MASSIVE CORRUPTION INDICATORS. Over the past weeks, The PUNCH has been reporting on graft cases filed before the Ombudsman based on COA’s findings. What COA, however, cannot establish are activities that have no records of corruption obviously but the circumstances surround these activities point to massive corruption made possible as usual by official protection.  

Take the continued dumping of Bulacan bangus in our markets almost daily in bigger volumes and quantities than what was prescribed in the city ordinance. It points to daily tong payments and collections to the city agriculture office and market division.

Then, there is the continued illegal occupation of baratillo vendors in open spaces around the city market without a city ordinance. It points to regular tong payments to and collections by the office of the market supervisor and POSO.

Then, there is the non-payment of vendors of monthly rentals pointing to payments of tong to some politicians blocking the passage of schedule of rental rates in the city council.

The suspension or cancellation of the Waste-to-Energy program led to overpriced monthly garbage collection fees for transfer in an undisclosed facility. 

Then, the proliferation of illegal fish pens that continues to this day and the City Agriculture Office cannot even produce the list of owners of these illegal structures. Guess who’s on the take.

The drug illegal trade has proliferated since the Lim administration took over as evidenced by successful raids and buy-bust operations in the city. There’s no way these street dealers in barangays can operate without official protection from some people at the city hall and police department.

Since the activities are blatantly in violation of the anti-graft and corruption law, COA obviously has no reference for these. But city residents do.

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PRANKTERS FACING MISERABLE LIVES. All universities and colleges in Dagupan City must seek the help of NBI’s anti-cybercrime section in tracing the source of obvious terrorist pranks by students who think they can be spared the pressure of taking difficult scheduled exams.

What the pranksters don’t seem to know is that technology leaves data footprints.  Even shared photos can be traced to its original source. Worse, their acts of terrorism are non-bailable and will make their lives miserable with life sentence imprisonment!

To prevent future mischiefs from students inclined to use terrorism pranks, all the universities would be well advised to organize forums on implications of acts of terrorism, that include pranks, to be presided by NBI and PNP anti-cyber operatives.

The kneejerk reaction of a university to an email threatening terrorist acts, suspending all classes, is understandable but this can be mistaken by other students as an easy ploy to be spared the pressure of passing an exam by having classes suspended.

Now that the education sector has employed stricter policies in screening bags of students and faculty before they can enter the campus, that incident last week should be the last.

The campuses will have more pranks coming their way unless and until students and faculty are made fully aware of the consequences of acts of terrorism. The local pranksters may not be aware that many were already arrested on site only because of a reckless statement or joke about a terroristic act within hearing distance of others.

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