Punchline
What’s Mr. Lim up to?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
First, what’s Dagupan City Mayor Benjie Lim up to in the election front?
He is having fun giving the impression that he will push both Speaker Jose de Venecia and Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez to make a run for their money by threatening to contend for the 4th district while making plans for his son to succeed him as mayor of the city at the same time.
Is he serious? Is he really keen on spending all the money he earned legitimately in his business and those he piled from his being in government (from being the head of the Duty Free Shop, congressman to being the mayor) just so he can thumb his nose at Speaker JDV and Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, his erstwhile allies? Nope!
The way I read it, he’s much too smart (and wily) to risk his multi-millions in politics. What I think he is doing is actually what he does best – plotting to generate more money for his purposes and this time it will be at the expense of JDV! Or so he thinks.
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My favorite mayor obviously believes he already has the speaker profiled down pat as the politician who would buy off any potential opposition in order to remain unopposed. In other words, Mayor Benjie is simply out to raise the ante since he expects JDV to pay whatever it costs for the privilege of staying unopposed by a real contender like him. By claiming that he has spent a considerable sum preparing for his congressional run and for his son’s mayoralty bid, he now expects to be paid mucho-mucho millions for something he had not really spent on.
Neat, huh? Yes, that is if the speaker will not call his bluff.
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Then, I also simply don’t see how Mr. Benjie can make his son Brian win in Dagupan against a popular Vice Mayor Alvin when the son has not even proven his mettle at anytime except to accompany him in his trips (to China too?) and city hall meetings.
I also just don’t see Mr. Benjie shelling out a lot of moolah more than he ever spent in his own campaign in the past to ensure his son’s victory at the polls, and still spend even a lot more to beat the formidable speaker in the district.
The bottomlline: Mr. Benjie is not the type who will risk seeing himself and son Brian lose, and at the same time, but neither will he risk losing his shirt over politics without any certainty that he will get his ROI (return on investment). But my friend fire-player Gonz D disagrees. He thinks that Brian can actually win. (Curiously, Gonz was silent about Mr. Benjie possibly trouncing JDV…why kaya?). So, for the first time in our stint in The PUNCH together, he and I finally have a “friendly” bet, and it will be on our favorite mayor’s end game. I maintain it will still be Mr. Benjie, not the son, who will still seek the mayoralty when the dust clears. Now, who will the mayor bless? Abangan?
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THE WAR VS. “BEACH-LANDGRABBERS”. If you have been reading the list of “who’s who” among those who have been paying tax declarations for the dubious certificates of alienability and disposability issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, you will agree that the recent move of Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, though belated, asking DENR to cancel all the certificates it issued to a number of friends, cronies and dummies of City Mayor Benjie Lim in and around the Tondaligan Park, is a step in the right direction.
But I only wish he also asked for the same for the certificates issued in and around Dawel and Pugaro!
My information is that there has been a mad rush for the certificates in those two places since the Dagupan City Water District acquired the Geographic Information System (GIS) that provides a satellite photo of the city’s shorelines and accreted lands. It gave the racketeers inside the city hall (including some DENR officials, a former DENR employee who now serves in the city council, and some officials at the Assessor’s Office) a clearer, more accurate picture of what they can illegally own and sell! Thanks to modern technology, landgrabbing became a flourishing trade inside city hall.
My new pretty mole inside the city hall said the people attached to the city mayor’s office who can certainly provide more information about the modus operandi of the racketeers go by the following initials, “T.V.”, “R.F.”, “M.S.” and one “Atty. G.” But my patriotic mole doubts if they will spill the beans on their patrons. (Oh well, perhaps not today, but sometime in the near future when payback is due).
I was even asked why I have not crocked my eyebrow at anytime in the past to wonder why the City Assessor’s post continue to be filled by the city administrator in an acting capacity (since the retirement of the former assessor last year).
Ok, so let me ask the question now. What makes Mr. Raffy Baraan qualified to continue to run the operations at the city assessor’s office in a concurrent capacity? Why does Mayor Benjie insist on keeping him there? Hmmmm. Let’s have some answers, please.
Will some of those who have been paying tax declarations (see list in this issue and in the last two issues) provide some hints? Please?
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COLLATERAL DAMAGE. Still on my favorite mayor, Mr. Lim is reportedly deadset on starting the construction of the controversial two-storey building inside the Magsaysay Park next month notwithstanding moves to sue him and other city officials.
Unfortunately, his “Damn the torpedoes” battlecry to get the project off the ground quickly will inevitably result in “collateral damage” involving people who perhaps did not gain anything from the deals. City Administrator Raffy Baraan, City Legal Officer Dindin Baniqued, Onor-onors Teofilo Guadiz III, Vlad Mata, Nic Aquino, et al., knew the consequences for violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices act as public officers, so to be sued is just part of the territory. The “collateral damage” I refer to are the people who were used to front for the irregular conduct of the bidding – the members of the Bids and Awards Committee.
By insisting on the results of the obviously rigged bidding, my favorite mayor et al. will drag with them the following members of the BAC (per list of the office of Mr. Lim): Arch. Maximo Tan, Mr. Louie Gutierrez, Ms. Romelilta Alcantara, Arch. Emmanuel Palaganas, Engr. Rodolfo Carolino, Ms. Luz de Guzman, Atty. Roy Laforteza and Engr. Marcelo Prado, to the Ombudsman.
They will necessarily be named respondents in the complaint that will be filed soon as the construction of the project starts for lending their presence and names to the bidding process that “formalized” and acknowledged the winning bid of Metrostate Realty Corporation, owned by Siapno cousins (Mark and Alex).
And since I don’t think Mr. Benjie really cares as to what will happen to them knowing he already got all things wrapped up, I expect the construction to start as scheduled…and the complaint to be filed shortly after. Tsk-tsk.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/)
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