Punchline
Time to update ordinances
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
IT is time our legislative bodies in Pangasinan do an honest to goodness review and overhaul of ordinances passed over the past two decades. I am certain that if only they considered invoking their oversight functions over implementation of policies and rules of ordinances, they would find a big number of these ordinances that are not being implemented or enforced.
There are already many outdated ordinances in the province, towns and cities that law enforcers and regulating bodies no longer enforce or implement because penalties are impractical and meaningless, or community lives and lifestyles have changed, or abused to commit graft and corruption.
Our ordinances in both provincial and municipal/city levels should mirror dynamism and consistency in governance, not of complacency and irregular and selective enforcement.
Just imagine, we keep electing new sets of board members and councilors to pass ordinances but nothing in the system provides for an updating or repeal of ordinances. One gets the feeling that only ordinances passed by current sanggunian are being enforced.
Given the signs that the new normal is inevitable, this is the opportunity for our legislators to set the tone as well – make old and new ordinances relevant.
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THERE IS TROUBLE IN PARADISE? I am in receipt of another unsigned white paper, alleging serious charges, from “conspiracy to promote and commit an abominable act before God and His church” to moral bankruptcy against Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Soc Villegas and Alaminos Bishop Fideis Layog.
In sum, after citing allegations of immorality and irregularities, both bishops are being asked to resign by the unnamed author/s who obviously are members of the clergy. (Only they could possibly know what and how dioceses are administered by established rules from Rome).
I, normally, would not dignify white paper especially when allegations are generic in nature and usually couched in trashy language. The only reason I chose to ignore the first white paper sent to me many months ago was because it was mainly critical of the new appointment of Bishop Layog. But this new white paper “signed” by “A community of concerned Catholics” from the Diocese of Alaminos and “Cc: Clergy of the Diocese of Alaminos, Urdaneta, Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan”, speaks of factual occurrence in the recent past and could only be written a highly educated and knowledgeable member of clergy. It even invoked the “sub-secreto process” that perhaps refer to absolute secrecy that only the members of clergy are sworn to, a process that ordinary Catholics can’t possibly know and understand.
A particular sentence is a giveaway on who the possible authors are: “You are fully aware of the issues against Bishop Layog as alleged in the letter yet you simply ignored them because of your assertive love of your episcopal power. Abuse of power as you wanted to lord over us.”
I noted the very serious allegations against Fr. Soc that I’m sure are not entirely new to him because he has thrown similar allegations liberally at the government.
The white paper talked about immorality in the dioceses and irregularity in the promotion process presided by Fr. Soc. It also claimed that they knew Fr. Soc has been receiving monthly jueteng payola and even mentioned accounts in Lingayen and Bugallon as depository. (Jueteng payola is one of the hardest to prove which explains why the late Archbishop Oscar Cruz never minced words to attack and expose the reach of corruption by illegal gambling like jueteng). I hope the authors can back this allegation with documents.
It also had a description of Fr. Soc’s of alleged misconduct. “You lord rather than serve. You promote hatred than love. You desire to be pleased and adored. Yours is a governance of palakasan. You act as politician expecting priests to fear you by hook or by crook. And those oppose (in principle) you are labeled rebels, outcasts.” Hmm, that’s a mouthful there. I sure hope the author/s know whence they speak because surely the laity in his archdiocese can easily expose these charges as fake news. Or can they?
There was also a charge of “undemocratic and uncanonical move… reminiscence of “episcopal promotion” of Fr. Soc., courtesy of the late Cardinal Sin. Seriously?
But in fairness to Fr. Soc, the difference between him in his attacks vs. Duterte government and his detractors who accuse him in this white paper is: Fr. Soc signs and owns to his statements while his detractors would hide in anonymity as “A Community of concerned Catholics.”
From the looks of it, this will not be the last white paper on Fr. Soc and Bishop Laygo. Tsk-tsk. And I’m afraid, the stench in the dioceses will not go away for a long time, if there’s a tinge of truth in these.
It’s time Vatican steps in to look into these serious allegations to determine if that’s altogether fake and unfair to Fr. Soc.
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WHO’S ENFORCING COVID-19 ORDINANCES? The IATF continues to issue new practical guidelines, some ridiculous like the motorcycle barrier, to combat COVID-19 and now local governments, including provincial and Dagupan City government, have seen to support these, and rightly so.
The latest is the mandatory wearing of face shields in addition to wearing masks. Well and fine. Anything to help win the war for our family’s and community’s benefit.
The only consistent missing link in these particular ordinances, like the ordinance requiring the wearing of face masks, is the failure of the executive branch to back the ordinance with a system to make the ordinance serve its purpose. I refer to the failure of the governor’s and mayors’ offices to issue the implementing rules like who should be overseeing the daily enforcement across the province and towns and cities?
Worse in Dagupan City, Mayor Brian Lim recently even refused to work with the city council in its oversight function to monitor compliance to ordinances in support of campaign vs. COVID-19. Unprecedented and “unmayor-like” of Mr. Lim for reasons that can never be justified.
The ordinances as crafted assume that the police, as law enforcers, will focus on their enforcement. But the police already have a thousand and one laws and ordinances to enforce. How can the new ordinance on wearing face shields (and face masks) be taken seriously when there are no visible marshals tasked to strictly enforce these?
Not even barangay councils are told to appoint marshals to look into the strict enforcement of the ordinance. The “No face shield/mask–No entry” as a guiding policy only works when residents enter commercial and government offices or board public transport.
What of the times of the day when residents simply mill around their neighborhoods and their children are at play? If nobody enforces the ordinance in the barangay level?
Without a semblance of strict enforcement of these important ordinances, our communities will soon take these for granted and COVID-19 contagion will surge.
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