By Farah G. Decano

 

ALLEGEDLY, the City Information Office FB page was hacked in March 2023.  Finally, after almost 60 days of waiting, the same was restored. I actually expected it to be hurriedly replaced as soon it was hacked.

If I were in the opposition, before the City Information Office FB page returned to business as usual, I would have had a grand time calling the attention of the city officials. I would have had said that the inaction reflected the governing authority’s disregard of public’s right to information. I would have had painted the City Information Office as fearful of transparency.  And I would have had enjoyed making a case that the hacking incident was even self-inflicted.

But I am not in the political opposition. And my concern is more for the safety of Dagupan residents. As of this writing, a super typhoon might affect the northern part of the Philippines. Where must we get information? During the typhoon’s aftermath, where do we get updates as regards the level of flood in the various barangays? Where do we get news on the evacuation centers?

Why do I press for information from the city when I can get data from other FB pages?  Simple.  It is official information I want.  News from the city wins over unofficial news in terms of credibility.  Sources of official information are mostly verifiable and the office that releases data can be held liable for any news that is inaccurate or outright untrue and malicious.

Had the City Information Office FB page remained inaccessible for an even longer time, inconvenience to the public would have become even worse. The DPWH has started elevating the roads along Arellano Street and AB Fernandez East.  We would have been kept in the dark as regards the alternate routes, the gravity of the traffic, and the closure of roads.

The problem with the opposition is that it does not know what and when to hit.  They forget that they, too, are the representatives of the people and not just the representatives of their party chief.

Most of my life, I have been in the opposition. I was taught how to go against the grain and to swim against the current.  Experience taught me when and when not to strike. Going with the flow, however, is foreign to me especially when to do so is against my principles.

To the opposition councilors, also known as Magic 7, the time you shine is not when you hit Mayor Belen personally or whenever you force her on her knees.  You shine when the people know and feel that you are fighting for their rights, their safety, and their convenience.

The Magic 7 cannot keep challenging the Mayor for the sake of putting her down.  With the numbers they have, this is the time they should use their power in exposing any inadequacies, incompetence, and corruption of the governing power.

I remember the movie, Amazing Spiderman.  The Goblin thought that to defeat Spiderman, he must attack the heart. Because the heart of Mayor Belen is with the people, the Magic 7 must target the executive only when the criticism is clearly and unequivocally FOR the people’s welfare.  That way, they get to capture the heart.

The opposition clearly has no well-thought-out strategy.  What good will it bring to the people if the opposition humiliates the Vice Mayor or the Mayor for attending meetings at the committee level?  I see that as a game of pride – Who gets to beg first?  Who blinks first?  Malayo yan sa sikmura ng sangkatuhan, so to speak.

Obviously, Mayor Belen is the better strategist despite the opposition having seven heads.  She turned things around and made the Magic 7 look like public enemies.

Typhoon season is coming. This is the time for the opposition to, either, sink again or finally shine.  Should they decide to sink, may they not bring the entire city with them. Please.

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