Punchline
Cabangon Chua scores big
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
BAD NEWS. Dagupan City has lost the second round in its bid to keep MC Adore or simply to earn more from its sale to the Amb. ALC Holdings and Management.
Observing from the bleachers, it is evident that the city government lost by default in the legal battle vs. the business interests of Mr. Cabangon Chua’s group. It waited too long to realize that courts, not media blitz or simply knowing it is on the side of justice, that decide on contentious issues and conflicting interests.
When city hall had the upper hand and the opportunity to go on the offensive after earning a favorable decision from Regional Trial Court Judge Mervin Jovito Samadan early on, its efforts sputtered. It became apparent that the minor legal victory lulled city hall into complacency believing that the favorable ruling was enough to bring home the bacon. And for reasons only known to the city hall occupants, the Belen administration was reluctant to send a strong signal for its single-mindedness to protect the city’s interests by tolerating the illegal operations of the Citystate Savings Bank at the MC Adore premises. Worse, it did not stop the bank from using the city’s electric meter nor did it pounce on Decorp to comply with its order to remove the electric meter.
It‘s the classic “wrong mistake” from the beginning to date.
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BLUNDER AFTER BLUNDER. On hindsight, the Fernandez administration’s biggest blunder was to underestimate the determination and capabilities of Mr. Antonio Cabangon Chua to keep his prize and cheap acquisition. While the mayor was averse to confrontations, he was not.
All the signs for an all-out offensive from the Cabangon Chua camp were there plainly to see but why officials in city hall refused to see them baffles me.
Initially, there was the attempt to muzzle the local media, to drown out the drumbeating from the city hall. There was the P.5-M offer to overthrow Gonz Duque as press club president. Then the phalanx of lawyers from the ALC camp arrived in full force to put up stakes in the city simultaneously with the blasting of the radio airwaves in Pangasinan from its DWIZ-FM.
The initial legal offense sought the transfer of the court’s jurisdiction from Dagupan to Metro-Manila. There were also efforts to further neutralize Mayor Belen through intermediaries and other politicos close to her network. Then the libel complaint vs. The PUNCH was filed, a clear attempt to stop us from continuously alerting the city hall. Then cases were filed before the Ombudsman against the mayor, City Engr. Virginia Rosario and City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara.
Alas, all these, and the constant warnings from The PUNCH fell on deaf ears. Worse, the city never filed a single case vs. Cabangon Chua group for any reason to protect and promote its interests.
The last straw for the city government was to be at the receiving end of the order of QC Regional Trial Court Branch 225 presided by Judge Cleto Villacorta practically granting all of Mr. Cabangon Chua’s wishes.
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STATUS OF BATTLE FOR MC ADORE. Here’s how the second round scores look like today:
- Since the Supreme Court granted Amb. ALC Holdings’ bid to transfer court venue to Quezon City, the city will now have to fight for its interests outside its comfort zone.
- The QC judge quickly granted Amb. ALC Holdings’ motion to intervene in the case.
- RTC Judge Samadan’s resolution is effectively set aside.
- The PUNCH is now facing trial at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.
- Mayor Belen, Engr. Rosario and Treasurer Alcantara remain charged before the Ombudsman.
- DWIZ’s AM format is replaced by FM format.
How the third round will play out for the city will largely depend on whether Mayor Belen has learned from the bitter lessons on how not to fight for the city’s interests – that to take no legal offensive and remain non-confrontational is a formula for certain defeat in any mission even if intentions are noble and just.
It’s the kind of strategy that evil interests enjoy taking advantage of.
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LESSONS OF DWIZ. Speaking of the thrashing of DWIZ’s AM format, there is one big lesson that the Dagupan City hall can learn from Mr. Cabangon Chua as well.
In sharp contrast, while the city government appeared reluctant to confront Decorp about it’s decision to extend use of the city’s electric meter to the Citystate Bank, Mr. Cabangon Chua unceremoniously pulled the plug on DWIZ’s AM format without much ado. Was its manager Allan Sison shown the door as well?
Mr. Cabangon Chua reportedly finally realized a wee too late that DWIZ’s AM format in Dagupan was not only failing to serve his interests, i.e., protecting his claim over MC Adore and the operation of his Citystate Bank’s branch in Dagupan, but that it was alienating advertisers and listeners as well.
In such a situation, he knew there was only one solution – to terminate it!
Perhaps it came with a realization, too, for Mr. Cabangon Chua that having a foul-mouthed, unthinking DJ masquerading as a commentator in his station, also projected him as an ugly, uneducated villain instead of picturing him as the respectable businessman with a social conscience.
We can only commiserate with the plight of the rest of the dismissed news staff.
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IT’S ABOUT RESPECT. Our Fire Player Gonz Duque, number 1 fan of Mayor Belen, called to share the news that his idol is finally raring to fight back for MC Adore.
Good! I do pray it’s for real this time. I had seen her forget her brave words too often that I begin to wonder if she’s even aware of it. So for whatever it’s worth, here’s my unsolicited advice to our good mayor who has certainly accomplished a lot more than any mayor in the past.
If she wants to fight and she knows she is in the right, she should not hold back! Throw everything you’ve got. That’s how David won against Goliath, how the US beat Japan in WWII, how Cory beat Marcos, etc. They all stopped simply being “the nice guys to be admired” because the fight for truth and justice was never, and will never be, easy!
Perhaps for starters, Mayor Belen could show some spunk by ordering Decorp to obey her because she is the mayor and should not be ignored. If she can’t even do this, I’m afraid, this sign of weakness will egg Mr. Cabangon Chua to continue to ride roughshod over her. No quarters. No respect for her and for Dagupeños.
Correct ba, Gonz? And what say you, Ope (Reyna) and Manny (Roy)? I am told the three are now Mayor Belen’s most trusted, separately.
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MAKING THE DIFFERENCE. The flurry of news and speculations about the modicum of truth in any of the Napolists have so confused many that most would now rather wait and see who finally gets charged and detained without bail.
What only appears certain in the public’s minds is the inevitable detention of Senators JP Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla
The other named (and delisted) senators are just waiting with bated breath for COA to say if it has damaging documents that could implicate them. They could only offer uniform denials except for one – Sen. Alan Cayetano. Certain that he has not shared a single centavo with any of Napoles’ foundation scam, he not only vehemently denied the accusation but pledged to resign if COA can show one anomalous transaction.
See the difference?
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