Deretsahan
Mayor Balolong is not suspended
By Bebot Villar
WALANG pagbabago. Believe it or not, Mayor Ernesto Balolong Jr. is still the mayor of Urbiztondo, and it appears na walang magawa ang kanyang mga detractors.
Firstly, nasupalpal na ang provincial board when Malacaňang lifted the suspension order it recommended for Mayor Balolong in 2012.
Then, when the provincial board issued another 60-day preventive suspension order noong March 24 for the second administrative case filed against the mayor, wala ding nangyari dahil up to now, Balolong remains the mayor on the strength of the Administrative Order No. 22 ng Malacanang.
In fact, an official of the regional office ng Department of Interior and Local Government went to Urbiztondo noong Lunes and clarified that Mayor Balolong is still the mayor.
Pero, talagang desperado ang mga kalaban ni mayor because Loida Cancino, the town’s former municipal treasurer, and the mayor’s accuser in the two cases, filed again the third administrative case for failing kuno to remit monthly premiums deducted from the employees’ salaries to GSIS.
Sabi naman ni mayor he has the receipts for the payments as he clarified that the bulk of the arrears ng bayan sa GSIS was incurred by the previous administrations. In fact, ongoing daw ang reconciliation ng mga records nila sa GSIS at ang latest remittance was April this year.
In fairness kay mayor, dapat huwag ibunton ang sisi sa kanya ang mga mali ng past administrations and people have to be patient. Payments of arrears have to be scheduled kasi hindi naman parang Makati ang Urbiztondo na super rich.
Pero matanong ko lang kay Ms. Loida: Isn’t it the duty of the treasurer and the accountant to handle the remittances? Trabaho pa ba yan ng mayor?
In the meantime, ano naman ang kahihinatnan ng pinagpapaguran ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan kung wa epek din naman pala ang recommendation nila for a preventive suspension dahil ayon dun sa AO 22, as interpreted by the mayor’s lawyers, habang pending ang appeal, the mayor remains in power.
Ayon kay Atty. Geraldine Baniqued, who replied to the query of Vice Mayor Martin Sison about the application of AO 22 in Balolong’s case, in her opinion AO 22 does not apply to an order for preventive suspension.
I am not a lawyer pero sa simpleng pagka-intindi ko, mukhang yong bisa ng AO 22 naman ang nasusunod kaya nga the “suspended” mayor remains the mayor of Urbiztondo. Balolong pa rin, in short.
I pity the board members kasi no matter what they decide against Balolong, nagiging parang kawawang cowboy lamang ang labas nila each time AO22 is invoked.
Kung ako sa inyo, relax na lang kayo and don’t waste your precious time na! Paulit-ulit man kayong mag file ng case ay paulit-ulit din ang intervention ng Palasyo so useless din, di ba?
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‘Deretsahan’ will be back on your TV screen starting June 7, Saturday in its usual timeslot, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. at K17 The Kabaleyan Channel of USATV.
Expect na mas maiinit, mas matitindi, mas matatapang at mas prangkahan na discussion.
Mas umaatikabong balitaktakan din ang mapapanood dahil si Atty. Gonz Duque ang ating co-host and kasama pa rin namin ng aking ka-tandem na si Eva Visperas.
Todo-todo na ito at dapat umayos na ang mga tiwaling officials dahil siguradong masasagasaan kayo. Walang kaming sasantohin, promise!
Kaya sa mga suki natin sa column na ito at sa mga tagasubaybay natin sa ‘Deretsahan’ sa K17 The Kabaleyan Channel, fasten your seatbelts sa inyong panonood and enjoy!
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