By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

IF the 7 epaLiFes at the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod will have their way, the worst is yet to happen to the city. Now, it can be told – Meet the cold-blooded enemies of the city.

They succeeded in torpedoing the programs and activities of Mayor Belen Fernandez from July to December by blocking the Supplemental Budget No. 1 and are about to launch their next offensive to keep her administration from delivering on her campaign promises.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what the insolent and arrogant 7 epaLiFes are targeting next: the 2023 annual budget! What greater vindication for their boss Brian Lim’s humiliating defeat at the 2022 polls than to sabotage the health, economic, education and development thrusts of the Fernandez administration for 12 straight months!

This leads many to ask and wonder – Will Mayor Belen still continue to allow them to walk all over her until her term ends? I pray not.

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BELEN’S COSTLY MISTAKE. The 7 epaLiFes got away with murder by blocking of the Supplemental Budget no. 1 without any sanction from the DILG despite the “URGENT” certification of Mayor Belen. Recall that the SP was not sanctioned as well when the passage of the 2022 budget was delayed because of then Mayor Brian’s refusal to submit DILG requirements!

There’s no doubt in my mind that the 7 epaLiFes will continue to flay her and her programs by imposing the reenactment of 2022 budget on her administration. She will have to work with the same budget of the Brian Lim administration that offered no value in economic, health and education programs for the city’s senior citizens and the youth.  And to completely derail the city government’s programs, they will never approve any proposed supplemental budget for these. They did it once, they can do it again – and again thumb their noses at the DILG that has so far failed to make the provisions of the Local Government Code work for the city.

The inaction of both DILG and the Fernandez administration (and the SP minority) on the refusal of the 7 epaLiFes to acknowledge and approve a legislation certified urgent by the executive alone has set a dangerous precedent for this administration and in the next. 

But the Belen administration is also to be blamed partly for the pathetic developments that left the city populace starving for meaningful services and programs. Mayor Belen did not act decisively, did not officially question (thanks to the city legal officer) and confront the 7 epaLiFes for their illegal official acts. I was dumfounded on seeing 2022 about to end and the city government and the SP minority still had not filed a single administrative complaint against the 7 epaLiFes before the DILG.

How can the city government expect to perform its mandated tasks if it doesn’t feel compelled to fight off the enemies of the city that are out to sabotage the city’s basic public services?

It is in this regard that the Belen administration failed its constituents when it allowed enemies of the city get away with murder at the expense of her constituents.

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CLUELESS LEGAL OFFICER? Don’t the Belen administration and the minority at the SP know they have enough basis to stand up to the 7 epaLiFes? They ought to know. All they need to do is to take the provisions the Local Government Code to heart, have faith and throw the book at 7 epaLiFes’ faces.  From what I’ve seen, there must be at least 5 administrative cases that can be filed against the 7 epaLiFes but it seems City legal Officer Aurora Valle has not found it in herself to do her job where it counts – to fight for the city’s welfare whatever the costs.

If it hasn’t occurred to her that the premeditated sabotage of Mayor Belen’s first 6 months and the expected sabotage of her next six months is literally a declaration of a vicious political war with Dagupeños in the middle, then she ought to resign today, not tomorrow.

So, don’t look now but the 7 epaLiFes are already leisurely walking to the bank for one of two reasons: Mayor Belen will not have the gumption to stop their offensive, or Mayor Belen surrendered to the 7 epaLiFes demand that they be paid P70,000 of public funds each monthly via the “7 job order employees” scheme – the enemies’ ultimate objective!

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THE PUNCH SEES RED. If the Belen Fernandez administration and the minority councilors can tolerate the intimidation, bullying and tyrannical acts of the 7 epaLiFes, the Sunday PUNCH will not! After Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia blocked the presence and participation of our Managing Editor Ding Micua in two public hearings of his committee on finance, all bets were off.

As editor-publisher of The Sunday PUNCH, I will file the notarized administrative complaint against Mr. Erfe-Mejia before the Office of the President. In that complaint, I charged him “for oppression, grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct as shown in his discriminatory practice and in his violations of the Local Government Code. “

I cited the undue prohibition by Councilor Red Mejia against the entry of Mr. Micua, being the Sunday PUNCH’s managing editor, on the December 6 and 14, 2022 virtual committee hearings as a violation of the citizen’s constitutional right to information and the freedom of the press. He prevented the Sunday PUNCH to perform its journalistic task to keep the public informed of official acts of the city’s elected officials that affect them.

In brief, I accused Councilor Erfe-Mejia for violating not only section 52(c) of the Local Government Code that states “all Sanggunian sessions shall be open to the public…”  but violated Art. 239 as well. On his own, he directed City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo to stop Mr. Micua in violation of the Sanggunian’s Internal Rules of Procedure (SP Resolution No. 7927-2022,).

As the process goes, I expect the Office of the President to direct DILG Sec. Benhur Abalos to investigate our complaint. Whether Mr. Erfe-Mejia will be found guilty or not later, he and his cohorts are on notice that enemies of the city will be watched with eagle eyes by the people and The PUNCH.  Again, it’s not a threat. Just a promise to keep the city safe from politicians who only care about their self-serving politics and hideous financial agenda at the expense of the city.

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WE DARE ASK AGAIN. Our editorial this week is titled “Where is Governor Guico?

After failing to see or hear him report his achievements in his first 100 days as the new governor of Pangasinan since he assumed office last July 2022, he still is missing, apparently at a loss how and what to say in his New Year’s message to his constituents.

He was last seen two weeks ago standing beside DAR Sec. Estrella after waving to the crowd, just watching the latter distribute the digitalized certificates of land titles to farmers. Even the capitol’s publicity and information office could not issue a statement quoting him about the plight of landless farmers in Pangasinan because, I guess, he really had nothing to say.

The only mitigating situation for him is seeing the provincial government’s press office finally come to life on the last week of December with a “people and events” story involving their boss Guv Mon-mon.  The press release was about another MOA signing… and still, it did not share any thoughts from their Boss Guv!

As dictated by tradition, all governors, particularly the newly elected in the country, see the New Year as the perfect occasion to regale their constituents with accomplishments in their first 6 months, then reiterating vision and programs in the next 12 months. But apparently, not this governor.

Will Pangasinan ever hear Guv Guico say anything significant or will he choose to continue his “no-talk, no mistake” mantra? I’m still praying for a reformed Guv Mon-Mon.

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