By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THERE they go again.

There was another ugly scene at the Dagupan sanggunian last Tuesday.
The majority’s epaLiFe Councilor Red Erfe-Mejia made the regular session his stage for his rude and unruly grandstanding. Alas, he appeared like the spoiled child who dropped his lollipop on the floor and desperately wanted others to give him a new one that he can lick and enjoy.

But just listening to his taunts alone, epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia actually sounded more like a pathetic drunk, who badly needed to call attention to himself by shouting and hurling personal insults at his colleagues in the minority while Councilor Michael Fernandez was explaining why and how the proposed supplemental budget will address epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia’s concerns.  Alas, epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia’s mind was pre-set not to listen to others than himself.

There’s more. The session also exposed the immaturity of epaLiFe Councilor Irene Acosta. With her childish antics as his cheerleader, she was seen and heard by the audience gleefully egging on a “drunk” to continue taunting their political adversaries. Thank God for her mother Councilor Celia Lim who saw through the absurdity of the jeering and endless taunting by her allies on the issue. She asked them to stop their nonsense and did all to mollify both sides!  Councilor Alfie Fernandez was his quiet self. Disturbed perhaps?

Councilors Lim, Coquia and Fernandez were the antidotes to the hardcore epaLiFes that day. Majority leader Councilor Dada Macalanda was lost in her own misinformation.  (She railed against the implementation when it had not happened).

I had expected epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia to be difficult after his best friend Brian Lim failed in his reelection bid. But he outdid himself again this time. His rowdy conduct during that regular session of the city council gave a quick lesson to the audience inside the hall –“How to lose self-respect the fast, easy way.”

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FOREVER JUVENILES? By bringing young scholars to the session for show, it became obvious that epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia had planned on his grandstanding. He even had his soundbites ready for everyone to remember! He kept interrupting, repeating them loudly while Minority Leader Fernandez was giving him the response he needed to hear. Really pathetic.

When he became personal in his taunts in the middle of a parliamentary process, forgetting that he was elected to be an honorable representative of the people, he exposed his upbringing as a mindless bully. And, he appeared pleased with his uncouth conduct.

Anyway, as I watched the video repeatedly, I noticed something that perhaps many easily took for granted.

Visually, the minority were in their white short barong out of respect for their elected hallowed positions in the city government but some epaLiFes were still in jeans and topped by their campaign blue shirts like they were in a student council meeting where parliamentary rules don’t matter.

Some people just can’t learn to grow up. Forever juveniles?

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HIS WORST ENEMY. The tact of epaLiFe Erfe-Mejia to continuously ignore basic rules on governance, setting aside draft ordinances certified to as urgent is pure and simple act of trapoism.

What he fails to understand is that his attempts at derailing, delaying implementation of programs whose benefits to communities are indisputable, only paints himself as one irrelevant public servant.

His inane grandstanding could serve him if his target is like his best friend former Mayor Brian Lim who was hardly seen working with the city’s populace.

But Mayor Belen is not a bit like himself and Brian.  So, his efforts in discrediting her as mayor and her programs by delaying and withholding funds for programs that will have immediate impact on the elderlies, the youth and education, cannot succeed. She has the ears and hearts of the communities every day!

My unsolicited advice to my relative: You are plotting needlessly against your perceived political enemies because you are already your worst enemy.

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DISAPPOINTING REPORT. The first 100 days report of Guv Mon-mon Guico was dismal and a disappointment, to say the least, given what he had enthusiastically promised to do to improve the lives of his constituents during the campaign period.

All he could report was actually simply the adoption of several of his plans as provincial ordinances by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) over a 100-day period spread. Even his obvious pre-arranged interview over CNN news broadcast was devoid of any details that indicated that his plans were only good on paper. No initiatives seen nor felt on the ground.

But he could have still made a better impression of himself as chief executive if he had reported that his plans were adopted by the SP to help fast-track the implementation of the plans. He didn’t give the board members the credit due them.

But here’s what takes the cake. After his first 100 days, he still has not appointed a provincial information officer who can be made to account to report on the activities of his office. Rumors from Mrs. Guico’s camp is, former ABS-CBN newscaster Cris Zuñiga is the anointed one, but he has not been seen nor heard acting like one. Because no news to read?   

Even Provincial Administrator Melecio Patague (ex-Binalonan veem) is muted!

And neither has the governor called for a formal press conference with local journalists to respond to issues affecting communities, from peace and order to COVID-19, from education to health welfare, etc. Why?? Is this the strategy to avoid being made accountable? No PIO. No report. No news. NO MISTAKE?

It’s obvious that he is avoiding any engagement with the local media practitioners and prefers a national TV coverage by TV journalists who don’t know a thing about issues in Pangasinan but networks are willing to give him time to talk about non-essential matters. “Special arrangements”? Could that be what he expects from our media practitioners?  A “Yes-Boss-media”?

Or is it possible that Guv Guico honestly thinks that his three Facebook accounts- merely filled with photo-ops with his first lady – are enough information that Pangasinenses need to know??

His apologists in media are surely not helping his situation by asking the public to give him time. Give him time?? Don’t they realize that their plea is making it more obvious that the governor had not done anything concrete about his campaign promises – during and after the first 100 days!

Till then – WANTED: A visible, performing, accountable governor in Pangasinan.

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