Punchline

By March 2, 2020Opinion, Punchline

About friends and sinners

 

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

LAST week, a Mrs. (?) Teresita G. Torio of Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City, who said has been following our column for the past two years, sent a “special delivery” letter (not email) and paid P23 to make sure I read her letter – berating me mainly for constantly “attacking” Mayor Benjie Lim and his family. I usually ignore such rants for these are part of the hazards of practicing true journalism, but since she shelled out P23 for the privilege of lambasting me, I’ll oblige her.  So here:

Dear Mrs. Torio: Firstly, I have to disabuse your mind that I am critical of the late Benjie Lim and his family because of deep personal hatred for him. Few know that he and I were very good friends and even did business together long before he became mayor. Few know that I was one of the first to ask him to run for mayor in year 2000 because I knew he had the vision and the capability to run the city. He was adamant to be a congressman, not mayor at the time. He even proposed that he would run against Cong. Joe de V and I run for mayor instead – as a team. To make a long story short, he gave way to Cong Joe de V and he decided to run for mayor. And, since I could no longer back out as candidate lest I be accused of having sold out, I decided to continue my bid, and told Benjie: “I have no illusion of wining so I hope you do everything to win!”

When he won, I reiterated my promise to help him fulfill his vision of economic progress for the city, and assured him that The PUNCH will be fully supportive. But when he launched his sanitary landfill project, just six months into his first term, under a very anomalous arrangement, I told him personally, “Bets are off. I have a job to do.”  Thus, began The PUNCH’s series of critical stories, exposing each anomalous deal that accompanied his projects in the city, starting from the Awai land deal to the overpriced streetlights, the overpriced new market, overpriced dredging machine, anomalous Magsaysay market lease for his Metro Plaza, undervalued sale of MC Adore Hotel.  He fought back and tried to discredit me by claiming that The PUNCH was already bought by then Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez. That was fine with me because it wasn’t and still isn’t true.

Between those times, Benjie and I remained friends. In fact, we had a chance to talk privately during his reelection bid vs. ex-Mayor Al Fernandez.  He asked: Ermin, truce muna tayo sa campaign.” I said “Ok lang… but will you also stop the illegal maneuvering for the occupation of the Magsaysay market?” He smiled and said: “I can’t na… marami nang compromiso.” We both smiled and we both knew there would be no truce. We ended that brief talk with a firm handshake. He understood what I had to do, and I knew what he had to do.

*          *          *          *          *

When I wrote critical of him, it was about his official acts as the elected official. I wrote to expose and stop the anomalous deals of his office, not about his personal business. Believing that if he stopped, he would still leave a legacy worth remembering.

His wife Celia was another good friend before they got married, being the sister to his late brother Rollie whom I considered ‘barkada’; her parents were extremely kind and caring. I admired her for being the perfect politician’s wife, fully supportive of Benjie. Attack the family? Try again.

I don’t know Brian personally. I only knew of him when he became a councilor as his father’s voice in the city council, and as an absentee vice mayor. Again, Mayor Brian can expect the same from me – to be critical if he’s into fishy deals as mayor, and supportive if he initiates pro-people programs as a mayor. I praised him initially for saying he’s the kind of politician who would continue good programs of his predecessors. I rued the day I believed him because he did quite the opposite soon after he made those statements.

*          *          *          *          *

You can believe all you can that your friends tell you about me, I really couldn’t care less. I know what I’m doing for you, the city and the province. If there’s anyone who can claim that I practice “attack and collect,” I dare that person to tell me in my face. I don’t need anyone’s money for what I write. I’m grateful and I thank my advertisers because they do it with no strings attached but simply believe in and support what The PUNCH does best.

Am I a lapdog of ex-Mayor Belen? Woof! Of course, I supported her programs that served the city, the same support I offered to Benjie on his first term but he bungled it. I never met nor talked to Mayor Belen throughout her two terms and I doubt if she can even claim we were friends at all, not after criticizing some of her department heads and a number of her official acts, i.e. slow in ridding the rivers of illegal fish pens, appointing an incompetent consultant as head of a unit, etc. Lapdog? Try again. You can believe the lie that Belen is part owner of The PUNCH but they could have named you and that perhaps would be more credible. Haha.

A “bogus consultant “for the Cayetanos? Did you mean misrepresenting myself? What for? I never dared to invoke their name for the past 12 years, and neither did I even think of invoking Sen. Ping Lacson’s name too in the past. Try another one.

Then you determined I’m immoral and a sinner. I surmise you are the living saint of Bonuan Binloc. On moral issues, I trust the good Lord will do the judging so I will pray for you.

So here we are… I hope you can appreciate what I have explained for your P23 worth of accusations.

*          *          *          *          *

For your sake, I will not criticize Mayor Brian in this issue but you can do him a big favor by writing him a letter, P23 special delivery as well and advise him:

  1. To take the warning of the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s seriously in every thing he does.
  2.  To prepare for a lawsuit with damages and a corruption case before the Ombudsman for breach of agreement re Waste to Worth project.
  3. To be careful with “constructive dismissal” tactics being employed on appointees of Mayor Belen. He can be sued. 
  4. To stop the reported hauling of garbage from the dumpsite to Malasiqui at night without the benefit of a public bidding. It is a case for the Ombudsman too. 
  5.  To stop the proliferation of illegal fish pens that already line up the Calmay River fronting Calmay, the area around Pugaro, etc.  It’s another case for Ombudsman too.
  6. His continued failure to implement budgeted projects will disqualify him from earning the Seal of Good Governance award for the city because the city is already tagged for an audit observation notice. Translation: Inefficient governance.
  7. To stop maligning the Jayceekens in public, not even in jest. It’s bad enough that he doesn’t credit the group’s efforts in organizing the recent impressive Darapilan exhibit in the name of the city government, and note without any budgetary support from his office.

            But be careful, I know that you will likely be tagged as an enemy of the Lim family for your gentle reminder for his own good. 

Peace be with you, Ms. Torio (or whoever you are)!

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