By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

MAYOR Brian Lim attempted to pull the wool over Dagupeños eyes when he produced and posted a misleading (fake news) meme in the city’s Public Information Office page on Facebook, meant to show that he’s leaving P1.2 billion in cash in bank reported as surplus fund for the next administration’s use, before bowing out of office.

His bold claim only begs more questions than answers.

Firstly, the meme didn’t say that his administration operated on a P1.17 billion budget in 2021!

So, was it at all possible that his administration, in fact, managed to collect its targeted revenues to cover all the expenses incurred in 2021 but he failed to implement 50% of the budgeted items?

So the savings actually came from poor performance and inefficiency in governance?

Was it also possible that the reported savings actually included Mayor Belen’s earlier reported revenue surplus that were converted into trust funds?

The fact is, the meme, allegedly “Prepared” by a “Danica O. Teodoro, CPA, Accountant 1 and “Noted” by “Randolph F. Ubando, MPA, OIC-CTO/Assistant City Treasurer”, didn’t illustrate how the Lim administration performed. It only meant to imply that having that much surplus was good governance. Wrong.

A quick perusal of the data reflected in the meme will easily tell anyone (except Mr. Lim’s blind followers) that the listed data were not erroneous in their presentation!

Take the P16,781,701 Calamity Fund that it claimed to be unspent. Didn’t Mayor Lim complain that the city already fully used all its calamity fund as authorized by Sanggunian Panlungsod and could no longer provide additional ayuda?

And didn’t Mr. Lim ask for a series of supplementary budgets to fund some of his “official” programs yet the meme showed that P113,615.999.26 were in trust fund (including Calamity fund)?

Mayor Belen Fernandez should make both Teodoro and Ubando come forward and tell the whole story (I also wonder how much PIO Ging Cardinoza knew about this attempt to pull a fast one with that meme posted on his office’s Facebook page).

What Mr. Lim actually did was to insult his blind loyal supporters’ intelligence by believing they will swallow his lie in that meme, hook line and sinker. And going by their comments/reactions, Mr. Lim correctly predicted their reactions. His supporters congratulated him profusely for “a job well done.”

So, let’s hear it from Ms. Teodoro, Mr. Ubando and finally, from Mayor Belen!

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NOT THE SAME BELEN. Come-backing Mayor Belen Fernandez has strong words levelled at those who deserve it.

But how far will Mayor Belen go in cracking the whip against those who misused the city’s funds, those who engaged in criminal activities using their government positions? Mayor Belen’s detractors believe she is and will always have pusong mamon. Really?

Frankly, there’s nothing more I’d like to see than to see her face red in anger, clearly outraged and furious so those who thought they can get away with murder in her presence, will suffer her wrath. Their belief that that she doesn’t have the courage to be stern and to strictly enforce the law must be blown up in their faces.

Take the case of the hundreds of  incorrigible owners of illegal fish pens! Obviously, they believe that the worst that they expect Mayor Belen will do is to simply demolish their structures that already earned them millions. They saw it happened during her last term, they believe it will be the same again.  

If Mayor Belen wants to teach the unscrupulous profiteering opportunists at the expense of the city an unforgettable lesson, she should demolish their structures then file charges against them in court for violating the city’s ordinance for 3 years, with added penalties to cover costs of demolition and dismantling of the structures!

Then the erring city hall employees (at the market, agriculture office, etc.) who actively participated or covered up the criminal activities of their superiors should not only be made to resign but be made to face charges before the ombudsman for the forfeiture of their remaining benefits.

Is she can only do as much, she’d be leaving a legacy in Dagupan City to show that under her watch, there is accountability demanded of government employees!

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PLEA BARGAINING BENEFIT DRUG LORDS.  The Supreme Court’s resolution allowing arrested drug dealers to submit to plea bargaining for their conditional release  is backfiring!

The plea bargaining option enables the court to release arrested street drug dealers from detention without serving bail bonds then simply turned over to their barangay chairmen  and local police for monitoring and supervision. Nothing more! No accountability!

In fact, the SC’s resolution is like manna from heaven for the drug lords. Not only does it save them costs of filing bonds and endless payment of lawyers’ fees, it allows them to expand their operations wherever they please. After all, they know that if any of their wards are arrested, they will be back in the streets in no time.

Meanwhile, our police and PDEA operatives get deeply frustrated and demoralized on seeing and arresting the same faces twice within months. Why? Because the operatives risk being killed or injured in these operations aware that many drug dealers, who’ve been detained before, are already armed, determined to shoot it out rather than be caught alive and suffer detention in filthy, overcrowded jails.

This is a fact that the bleeding hearts among human rights groups don’t and refuse to see.  Many of the armed drug dealers shot dead by PDEA and police operatives were, indeed, nanlaban!!

Both PDEA and PNP must seek the support of our senators and congressmen to petition the Supreme Court to amend the resolution re plea bargaining by defining the accountability of barangay chairmen over supervision of the arrested drug dealers released to them, and before the plea bargain is accepted, the barangay chairman must agree to accept the responsibility and to be accountable.

There should be no plea bargaining if the barangay chairman refuses to be accountable.

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