By Farah G. Decano

 

WHO is Claudia Procula?  What was her participation in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?

Claudia was the stepdaughter of Emperor Tiberius, and her hand was given in marriage by the latter to the very ambitious Pontius Pilate.  Although their marital union was merely arranged, Claudia, according to non-biblical reports, took her wifely duties seriously.  As was the tradition during those times, wives were not allowed to join their husbands during proceedings for criminals.  According to these accounts, the very concerned Claudia insisted in accompanying Pontius Pilate during the trial of Jesus Christ.  It was at that point when she sent a message to her husband, “Do not have anything to do with that innocent man for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”  These were the only words about Claudia found in the Bible, more particularly, Mathew 27:19.

The cowardly Pilate knew in his heart that his wife was right. He recognized that standing before him was a man of virtues.  He also understood that to proclaim Jesus as innocent will make him lose his popularity and his power.   Playing it safe, the Governor of Judaea ruled that the determination of whether the son of God will live or die shall be put to a vote by the masses.  He then publicly washed his hands after securing the crowd’s judgment. He thought that by doing so, he will not incur any responsibility for the consequential death of the Christ.

What about Claudia?  In some faiths, they have declared her to be a saint.  Allegedly also, she converted to Christianity after the Resurrection of Christ.  Though a pagan at the time of Jesus’ trial, Claudia was a courageous Roman unlike her husband.  She believed in her dreams and bravely expressed her opposition to the impending execution of Jesus.  She did not fear that she would be bashed as a sorceress by Pilates’ advisers.  Neither did she worry that she would be humiliated by the rejection of her husband himself.  To her, what was important was that she spoke up.

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In this brouhaha over the Dagupan City budget issue, both majority and minority members seem to have lifted their concerns to their respective faiths. Both sides apparently believe that they have God’s blessings.

 Someone needs to speak up like Claudia and here is my take:  We cannot openly clasp our hands in prayer and then raise our fists against each other and bash one another.  

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Applying the same biblical situation to Dagupan’s latest issue, the opposition cannot wash their hands after the budget cuts by blaming Mayor Belen.  Allegedly, she refused to produce the names of the Job Order Employees (JOES) and the consultants.   Most of the councilors belonging to the majority are repeat councilors.  They should know that most offices rely on the JOES to fully operate.  They cannot claim ignorance that most POSO employees who man the traffic every day, the nurses attending to patients in the barangays, the street sweepers keeping the alleys clean, and the staff inspecting the public markets, are JOES.

If the opposition cannot trust Mayor Belen’s manifestations before the Appropriations Committee and doubted that all of her 700 plus JOEs are ghost employees, then the members should have at least done more investigation. They could have asked the department heads how many JOES are actually working for each office.  And if the numbers don’t tally, then the Appropriations Committee could have just suggested a reduction of the funds.

The sweeping ZERO budget for most programs involving JOES is prejudicial to the city’s residents.  The city is hurting. I urge one of the majority members to immediately file a reconsideration.  I can only see Councilor Alvin Coquia who seems to have the least personal grudge against Mayor Belen to do just that.

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