Punchline
The pols and J & D lords
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THE recent decision of the Supreme Court (SC) declaring the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) as unconstitutional immediately impacts on three local governments’ concerns.
First, is the most obvious one. The demise of the notorious “Development Fund” that had become a regular item in the LGUs budgets has sent local public officials scampering for alternative revenues for their pet projects and for their pockets. They will have no choice but to pre-identify projects for funding in the budget, no longer on a “whenever, wherever and however” basis as they had been used to in the past. And worse, projects will be limited to “hard” projects, i.e., roads, bridges, schools, markets, etc) that are measurable and visible. There will be no “soft” projects that they can dispense without as much accountability in their deliveries, i.e., scholarships, fertilizers, books, uniforms, etc., where ghost deliveries have been rampant.
Second, congressmen and senators will begin looking in the direction of districts of their respective hometowns as a new alternative to stay in public office. LGUs, unlike national posts, have more effective control of public funds. So expect more familiar names gunning for the posts of governors and mayors in 2016, no longer as re-electionists for their present posts.
At the local level, the chief executives will even be more powerful since implementation of projects will be at their sole discretion. What this means in the real world is only the governors, mayors and the kapitans may decide who to share the S.O.P. with. Expect new formats for billboards adorning project sites: “This road widening is a project of the Governor, in collaboration with Board Member and Mayor, assisted by Barangay chairman!”; “A project of the mayor, in collaboration with Councilor and assisted by the Barangay Chairman,“ and finally, “A project of the Barangay Chairman in collaboration with the Mayor and the Councilor.” Whoever said there are different ways of skinning a cat is the modern prophet.
Third, and the most pernicious effect, will be the inclination of local officials to further tolerate illegal gambling and illegal drug dealing in their respective towns and cities in return for higher monthly payola. In fact, this already began when DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson set stricter guidelines for bidding of public works projects. Starting bids have been established at levels that prevent contractors from overpricing their contracts by as much as 80%.
Higher payola will definitely mean more aggressive operations by the J & D (jueteng and drug) lords in Pangasinan! Watch out for more “jai-teng” collectors in all neighborhoods and drug dealers in school campuses.
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SUPER SPINES WANTED. The inclination of some mayors and other public officials now to turn to drug lords for their supplementary income has made it more urgent for Guv Spines to be more aggressive in his declared war against the drug lords operating in the province.
Drug-infected families in the province continue to pray to see more of him at the frontlines for their peace of mind before they completely lose their children to the dreaded drug lords. When they see their mayors’ seeming indifference to the presence of drug dealers in their towns, they desperately need someone to turn to, and that someone is he.
Right now, it’s still only the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency that is still visible at the province’s frontline in the war vs. illegal drugs. Guv Spines’ gung-ho leadership is still sorely missed for they know that it is his presence that would make a whale of difference in this war.
Let’s hope Guv Spines can still act in time to save this generation from the deadly clutches of the drug lords.
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QUO VADIS DECORP? So finally, Dagupan Mayor Belen Fernandez acted on the illegal use of the city’s electric meter by the Citystate Savings Bank at the MC Adore building.
However, at presstime and for reasons only known to the Dagupan Electric Corp., it has not acted on the mayor’s request for the transfer of the meter to Malimgas Market building. Is Decorp still trying to find a way to wriggle itself out of the mess created by the operation of the Cabangon Chua-owned bank?
I do not see how Decorp can even think of not complying with the city hall’s request because, in its submitted affidavit to the prosecutor’s office in Pasig City for the libel case, it maintained that the electric meter is registered under the city government’s name. Hence, it cannot simply ignore Mayor Belen’s request simply because Citystate claims it has been regularly paying for the consumption reflected in the meter.
The fact remains there is no lease agreement between the city government and the bank for the use of the meter. At the same time, Decorp cannot act on the bank’s application for a meter because the bank cannot submit the required permits to have a meter installed on its premises.
The worst thing that Decorp can do to itself is to deny the mayor’s request when everything else points to the legitimacy of the city hall’s request.
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NO MORAL ASCENDANCY. The PUNCH received a press release explaining Dagupan’s Onor-onor Red Erfe-Mejia’s why he attempted to block the passage of the supplemental budget two weeks ago.
It wrote: “In his privilege speech, Erfe-Mejia roundly assailed what he called the “insensitivity” of the budget proposal, saying “of the 38 EWs and 16 TCs, only five EWs of the office of the vice mayor will get their salaries, worth P70,000.00. So, if we’ll compute that, it will only cover two months of their salaries”.
“We are 12 councilors here. Now, where can we get payment for our TCs and EWs?” he asked.
He added that “before we can pass this budget, visit your conscience, and please take a look at the situation of our fellow-workers and their families.” Duh?
The PR was a vain attempt to picture Erfe-Mejia as the lone bleeding heart for the EWs’ when he sought to block the supplemental budget. Did he believe for a moment that he was justified in blocking the passage of a budget intended to help the whole operations of the city government for the sake of his EWs’ salaries?
Gosh! The city has not forgotten his role in that cabal that plundered the city’s funds with impunity that led to the near bankruptcy of the city government today? No, Dagupeños have not forgotten that he and the vice mayor were part of the Judas 9 that gave former Mayor Benjie Lim the carte blanche to use the city’s fund as he pleased like these were his personal funds.
From the very outset, he forgets that he and the VM have no moral ascendancy to demand anything for themselves until they have accounted for every centavo they received from the city government and the activities they managed in the name of the city. By doing what he did, it seems Erfe-Mejia has lost any semblance of decency and delicadeza in himself or devoid of a basic understanding why he is a councilor.
Erfe-Mejia had the temerity to ask where the councilors would get the money to pay their EWs and consultants’ salaries. Why, since he refuses to account for the city’s funds, he (and the VM) should, at the very least, offer to pay the salaries of all EWs for the next 10 years since they have the money that the city could otherwise use for their salaries. He and VM Brian might yet make heroes of themselves for the EWs.
Fortunately for the city, the duo’s allies in the minority did not share their shameful tact at this critical time for the city. (But shame on Onor-onor Emong Vallejos for conveniently disappearing during the voting).
Meanwhile, our Zombie-watch at the city council will continue.
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