By Ermin Garcia Jr. 

 

HOW stupid and how far will reckless politicians go to serve their bloated misplaced egos?

I say let’s give full credit to the 7 epaLiFes at the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod for showing us how.

Their antics last week wanting (and succeeded) to “disapprove minutes of  the February 7 regular session and delete entire proceedings” from SP’s records topped it all, so far!

High school student councils in the country that usually maintain scant records of meetings  may go as far as tearing up their notes but would never think of deleting their thoughts and proceedings as if these never happened! In their vocabulary, that would be totally absurd.

Aah, but the 7 epaLiFes think they can make anything disappear from the public’s eye and mind when they want to – and that’s just as stupid as they can get!

After that precedent-setting antic, we can expect them to be consistent when they moved for rejection of minutes of a regular session. It is likely that they will ask for the rejection of the minutes of last week’s session, too, because that session further exposed their being harebrained.  I’ll be very disappointed if they don’t because that would mean they are scatter-brain and disorganized after all.

If this is how the city council will be run in the years ahead by the likes of them, the city will surely be in better hands with outstanding  officers of high school student councils in the city. At the very least, the city is assured of enthusiastic idealism, dedication, commitment and fresh vision not by politicians consumed by greed and hatred.

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AN EMBARRASSMENT. Ask anyone in the city streets who’ve come to know more about them each week, and they will tell you the 7 epaLiFes (Councilors Red Erfe-Mejia, Celia Lim, Dada Reyna-Macalanda, Irene Lim-Acosta, Alfie Fernandez, Alvin Coquia and Marilou Fernandez) just lost any hope of redemption by their latest display of arrogance, ignorance and absence of common sense.

As the Guinness of World Records will attest, only Dagupan’s 7 epaLiFes are the first of their kind that believe they can twist and turn facts into a fiction while trying hard to look and sound intelligent as a bunch.  I can only imagine how some of them will actually fare in the real world of politics and governance if each one is alone and not cursed being a member of the 7 epaLiFes. Will they likely be moving around like zombies, walking mindlessly with nothing between their ears, or swagger with confidence aware that they are not beholden to anyone but themselves, only mindful of the respect  they deserve. That’s what I’ve always thought of Councilors Alfie Fernandez and Alvin Coquia, but people change, I guess.

(Curiously, I note that Mr. Erfe-Mejia was suddenly pushed back by his  barkada and put up Councilors Acosta and Alfie to do all the talking. Tsk-tsk).

Today, the 7 epaLiFes are no different from the over-aged  drug addicts  high on drugs, willing and eager to do anything together as any barkada would.

Gosh, how can they even think that by a mere resolution they can delete proceedings, statements and grandstanding made that were witnessed and heard by the city  populace through the eyes and ears of  the media that covered the regular session, and still want people to believe that these never happened? All because VM Byan Kua did not adjourn the session as they wanted him to do? Pathetic.

What they entirely missed because of their plain hubris and ego was there was an easy, practical way to do it while looking real smart like mature politicians.

The 7 epaLiFes could have easily highlighted their self-importance without looking intellectually challenged by simply amending/correcting portions of the minutes of the session and approved by them within minutes. But they chose not to, obviously afraid that they would lose their focus on their primary agenda – to humiliate Mayor Belen for not giving them their coveted candy – the 70K monthly allowance!

Or is it possible that the 7 epaLiFes were told that as majority they can dictate anything? If that were true, that adviser must be working silently for their nemesis, Mayor Belen.

Well, without a doubt, the 7 epaLiFes have become a complete embarrassment to the INC made their win in 2022 possible! But wait, rumor has it that the 7 epaLiFes believe they will still be reelected, one among them will be elected as mayor in 2025, with the continued endorsement from the INC. Talaga?

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WANTED: ACTIVE GUV. GUICO.  The situation at the province’s frontline is not any better.

The PUNCH received a press release from the capitol’s PIO simply announcing the forthcoming establishment of the ‘360City’ project. And as expected, Gov. Mon-mon Guico’s reaction was a canned positive reaction – he’s happy, enthusiastic confident, etc. – over the expected establishment of the ‘360’ being proposed by his lead consultant, former Mayor Cesar Quiambao.

Except for the canned positive statement from the governor, he had nothing to say more about it.  Is he leaving it to Mr. Quiambao to provide the details because he knows little or nothing about it except the title of the project??

It certainly looks like that will be the template hereon since he refuses to be confronted with questions about his thoughts. To date, nothing is still heard from him about what his administration is doing to address the crisis in the agri front.  He also has nothing to say about the ongoing cleansing among senior police officers by DILG in the campaign vs. illegal drugs. After all,  he dared not speak about the discovery of the P2.3-B drug distribution operation in Pozorrubio, just 14 kms from his hometown Binalonan.

I sure wish Guv Mon-mon and his close advisers will soon realize that the province needs a governor that cares, speaks and acts for them.

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