Punchline
Another multi-million racket?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
HERE we go again!
Something is cooking at the Dagupan City Hall…and its stench is beginning to seep through its doors. Note this: Mayor Benjie Lim tells Dagupeños that the city “cannot afford to see politics hamper our efforts in saving Dagupan from sinking due to the pestering floods caused by climate change and other factors.” Duh?
He is already obviously laying the predicate for another round of graft and corruption at the city hall! He cites politics as the obstacle even before he can describe in detail what efforts he is referring to. Kumita na yan, Mayor…and I mean that literally!
Recall that he blamed politics for the loss of the 30-hectare lot in Baragay Awai in San Jacinto yet everyone knew he had full control of the city council, the onor-onors conspired to do as he told them. He decried politics yet no one was more powerful than he at the time.
Wasn’t it he who made the deal with San Jacinto officials, who made the city pay his business ally P9 million more than what the land was worth, who received the notice from DAR over the pending claim of tenants, who defaulted in the city’s defense? The investigation of the pending case before the Ombudsman will prove that he, not politics, caused of the city’s P16 million loss! (Incidentally, I received the information that the Ombudsman already docketed Leo Angeles complaint vs. Mr Lim as Omb-L-C-12-0360-G/Omb-cpl-L-12-575 ).
* * * * *
By invoking politics as the possible obstruction to another of his “value engineering” project, when there are no specific plans to speak of and certainly no political issue invoked by anyone but him, we should begin to be wary.
Without a doubt, a plan to mitigate conditions in the city as a result of climate change and the constant flooding in the city is worthy of consideration. Nobody in his right mind would object to effective solutions to put an end to incessant flooding in the city’s streets and barangays. But wonder of all wonders, he now “pleads” for politics to be set aside. Why? Does he already have an idea how much in overprice he’s going to charge the city? Or was that meant to be a signal to his set of “P1.5 M onor-onors “ to pull the trigger for another “P1.5 million” kill?
Let me attempt a translation of that specially coded message. Methinks he wants people to know that any questions about details of his new “value engineering” project will be politically motivated. That’s how he framed the controversy that hounds his Daongan ed Dawel, the aborted Kankungan restaurant project, his ridiculous P50 million 24-bed lying-in child and maternal hospital, his trashy P10 million Tsunami Hill and fire sale of the MC Adore and Calasiao property.
Then, I suspect he again has no plans of presenting a detailed program of work for his “elevation” projects, the same way that he refused to submit the details of the city’s development projects in the 2012 and 2013 city budgets.
So, watch out for the 9 onor-onors’ song and dance number at the city council for this new major fund-raising raising scheme for Mr. Lim’s re-election in 2013!
* * * * *
NOT A ROBREDO. As I read the countless tributes to the late DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo, I recall my own thoughts about then newly-elected Mayor Benjie Lim in 2001.
As one of the pillars of the Dagupan Jaycees, I saw in him the potential of being the best mayor Dagupan would ever have. I believed then that he had the vision, the imagination, the stature and the energy to do what could be expected of a dedicated local government executive. When he assumed office, like Robredo, he started with “collective visioning,” involving major stakeholders in the city. It was something that his predecessors never did.
Early into his assumption of office and in my own enthusiasm to see a new brand of political leadership working in the city, I even assured Mr. Lim that I would personally fend off any political criticism by his detractors for the first 6 months as he forges new trails, confident that he was what the city needed. He was going to be my mayor…until I saw him foray into the world of corruption even before my self-imposed timed-support for him could lapse.
His sanitary landfill “quick-money” scheme… followed by overpriced streetlights, market building, etc. told me to be wary of his brand of governance.
I’m afraid, a Robredo, Mr. Lim will never be.
* * * * *
PRACTICAL LESSONS. Constant waist-deep flooding in our communities will already be a regular occurrence in many areas in the province.
A geohazard specialist had told me that once a place experiences flooding, one can expect the occurrence to be repeated every time circumstances occur similar to the first one. Normally, one cannot hope for a short-term solution unless a critical factor for the flooding has been identified and the accompanying issues had been resolved.
This being the case, mayors who had seen areas in their communities that were practically and completely submerged should take the initiative to teach residents the basics of survival in case of extreme flooding.
Today, our LGUs continue to respond on an ad hoc basis when the patterns are already obvious and lessons can already be learned.
I wonder how many of the lessons below have been adopted so far by the various disaster and risk reduction management councils in the province:
1. Education of residents on risks of flooding. 2. Identification of permanent evacuation centers. 3. Providing for inventory of basic food, water and medicine supplies. 4. Teaching children how to swim in case they fall into the floodwater. 5. Organizing First Aid teams in the barangays in normally flooded communities. 6. Organizing a “Rope Brigade” that will set up “life-lines” on cue that can be used by stranded victims to cross to higher grounds.
These initiatives are lessons culled from many rescue and evacuation operations but mayors and barangay officials have yet to learn from these enough to motivate them to adopt them!
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
