Punchline
Meet Mr. Know-It-All
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THERE is a ‘know-it-all’ character at the Dagupan City hall who styles himself as a volunteer public servant with a lot of clout, a claim he vigorously attests to over the radio with the help of friendly broadcasters.
When one is a “volunteer’, no one cannot ascribe any ill motive to anyone who thrives on being a selfless public servant. But not in this case. Frankly, I’ve known more about Mr. Know-It-All since the early 70s. He was still a student and he comported himself as the student leader who enjoyed the loyal following of his peers at the then Luzon Colleges. He was quick to commit the participation of hundreds of students to a public rally against jueteng that I was organizing then. When the D-Day came, all the presidents from other schools in Dagupan City marched with their contingents to the city hall, except for one – Mr. Know-It-All was nowhere to be found, and the promised contingent of 500 students was missing. Nobody listened to him, I found out too late.
So on hearing about the latest in the saga of Mr. Know-It-All, he who finds it easy to make big claims about himself, I was tempted to verify his latest claim about being a self-sacrificing volunteer at the city hall. And voila! A quick check with city hall confirmed that Mr. Know-It-All is not a volunteer as we know it. He has been receiving a hefty P30,000 pay monthly, courtesy of the city’s taxpayers and regularly accumulates more than P10,000 in phone bills! Gee, why didn’t the hard-working souls in the city hall think of becoming a volunteer instead? But I guess, it takes one to be pretend to be a know-it-all to be a highly paid volunteer in the Fernandez administration.
So I also did a double-check on his short-lived glorified stint with the Lim administration. It appears Mayor BSL found out soon enough that Mr. Know-It-All really had nothing substantial to offer that would benefit the city, so he was unceremoniously cut off as a technical consultant. But Mr. Know-It-All is also the survivor type. He managed to endear himself to Mayor Belen. How and why that happened remains one of the few blots in the Fernandez administration.
But unknown to the forever-understanding mayor, the city’s Mr. Know-It-All is known to be taking quick stabs at her benefactor, describing Mayor Belen to others as the gullible mayor. To reinforce this, he makes it a point to demonstrate the immense power he wields over lowly city hall employees as a volunteer by constantly berating them! Poor Mayor Belen!
Gee, I wonder if she even heard of one really gross thing that he made a lowly employee do that caused the latter to resign irrevocably out of humiliation. I will verify this from the concerned ex-employee before making it public here. Hopefully, I can give the details in next issue.
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FLAWED POLICY. There is one policy of the Daang Matuwid that continues to hurt the nation.
Did you know that across the country, the Aquino administration continues to flout a law in the Local Government Code that requires the appointment of permanent regional, provincial and town police directors?
Since the Aquino administration took over in 2010, majority of postings of regional and provincial police directors have been playing musical chairs as “Officers-in-Charge.” It means, the Aquino administration deprived regional councils and provincial governors of the right to select their preferred candidates as permanent directors.
So what’s wrong with it?
The policy has effectively removed any accountability on the part of the O-I-C police officers to the regional and provincial executives for their performance. Meaning, the O-I-Cs cannot be held responsible for their failure to meet declared objectives because they are removed and replaced at will, anywhere from 3 months to 10 months!
What harm has this done to the country, and to Pangasinan in particular?
The war vs. illegal drugs never left first base! Each time a new O-I-C is brought in, a new strategy is employed and remains unfinished when the new O-I-C arrives. The changing of guards happen in matter of days, making it even impossible for the exiting O-I-C to make a proper turnover to his successor and the governor (or the regional council).
Bottom line: This unwieldy national policy has made it easier for the drug lords to operate with impunity and with a lot ease.
From where I sit, it is this politically motivated policy of Daang Matuwid that led to the proliferation of the illegal drug trade across the country. It was obviously solely aimed at preventing any local government executive from enjoying the support of any police director in anticipation of the 2016 elections. But at what cost? Many young men and women lost a promising future because they became easy preys for the drug syndicates.
Well, that political objective has been met, a reality that Guv Spines has learned too well. He has had trouble coping with the difficulties brought about by Daang Matuwid.
The most fortunate politician who has been exempted from coverage of this political malaise is Dagupan Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, thanks to her alliance with then Sec. Mar Roxas. Because of this, she managed to keep P/Supt. Christopher Abrahano under her wings with good results.
But hey, Guv Spines has shown he is willing to forget the political curse put on him by Daang Matuwid. He’s willing to don the yellow color during the campaign. (Indeed, politics knows no permanent enemies, just permanent interests).
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THE COMPROMISE. Although the withdrawal of the candidacies of Celia Lim (for mayor) and Dean Bryan Kua (for vice mayor) in Dagupan City created practical political solutions for opposing families of Mayor Belen Fernandez and former Mayor Benjamin Lim, these still didn’t stop tongues wagging.
Why did Mrs. Lim even think of running in the first place? Who pushed her into it? Her supporters claim it was made by BSL himself but whose true health condition remains a mystery to this day. Nobody has seen him nor talked to him except loose claims about his continued recovery. It’s just highly improbable that BSL would pit his wife Celia against the incumbent Mayor Belen knowing that odds are stacked against her. So who did?
Whoever pushed her into it, did a lot of injustice to Celia. Her withdrawal was half-expected and easily accepted. In other words, voters did not think of her as a serious contender from the very beginning.
Then there is the case of Mayor Belen who obviously found it easy to agree to the political compromise by making Bryan Kua back out to give way to Celia’s son, incumbent Vice Mayor Brian.
Many felt Bryan could have made Brian a run for his money, and that he could beat Brian was not a remote possibility.
Mayor Belen could have had it all but she chose to be a practical and perhaps as a magnanimous politician. Whether she made a wise decision giving in to that final solution will be seen soon enough when they both resume their roles as heads of the executive and the legislative branch respectively.
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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