By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

LAST week, the sun was out. The city streets were dry. Stores were open. Cars, jeepneys, tricycles and motorcycles were back with a vengeance hugging the city streets. Vendors occupied dry sidewalks.   Most everyone resumed their daily routines in Dagupan City.

Worse, images of the knee-deep flooding in 29 barangays in the city became just another added chapter in the city’s calamitous survival.  After all no one died and only houses were damaged.  For most resilient Dagupeños, “That’s life in Dagupan.” Then they move on.

But for both politicians in the administration and opposition, the recent calamity presented another useful story to be told for their blame game in the next political campaign.

At the city hall, Mayor Belen and her loyal aides were back to the drawing board, talking among themselves, endlessly emoting responses of what could have been, pointing to the 7 epaLiFes continued refusal to pass the 2023 annual budget, to explain the inadequacy of their usual relief and support to affected barangays. I won’t be surprised if they sensed their own boredom and frustration with their endless narrative blaming the majority in the city council for sabotaging their efforts.

They actually feel powerless.

Meanwhile, at the sanggunian, devious plotting by Councilors Dada Reyna-Macalanda, Red Erfe-Mejia, Celia Lim, Irene Lim-Acosta, Alfie Fernandez, Alvin Coquia and Marilou Fernandez, on how to best sabotage the Belen administration, continued. They pat themselves on the back because by supporting the declaration of the state of calamity, the credit was all theirs. They are not the evil villains… but Mayor Belen is.

Meanwhile, the minority in the sanggunian continued to sit by the sideline, waiting for a political miracle that will make them relevant.

In brief, it was back to status quo before ‘Egay’ rudely interrupted the needless, exasperating and seemingly endless political tug-of-war in the city.

So, what gives? Mayor Belen is back to her gameplan playing the victim card, while the 7 epaLiFes are back to their arrogant selves. Bottomline – Dagupan continues to suffer.

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‘KAWAWA’ VS. FEISTY. Judging from Mayor Belen’s post-flood responses, she is obviously not really keen on filing criminal and administrative cases against the 7 epaLiFes and their cohorts who have been documented to have stolen from the city, like she boldly promised she would.  And the 7 already know this.

As they expected, she’s back to writing, appealing to them to pass the 2023 budget. In fact, they were not surprised that she was again open to another dialogue, thanks to Senator Imee Marcos who prodded her and them to unite “kahit plastikan”. The senator became her convenient reason for her renewed victim card.

But, if Mayor Belen thinks the 7 epaLiFes will do as the ‘Super Ate’ bids, she’s gravely mistaken. Worse, she must be completely naïve to believe it. By continuing with her victim card, she is actually giving the 7 councilors the reason to stay their course – to subjugate and humiliate her. Perhaps, it’s exactly what the mayor wants to happen.

It’d make her look more “kawawa”. 

Again, she’s mistaken in that thought. What she and her loyal aides, Atty Aurora Valle and former budget officer Luz de Guzman, don’t seem to realize is there is already a growing discontent and disgruntlement about the endless stalemate, and Mayor Belen is not doing what is expected of her.  Their loyalists strongly feel it she could have ended it months ago… and got the 2023 budget approved, if she only did what she said she’d do.

After all, it’s the only local government in the country where the mayor is toyed with and led by the nose by councilors, and the mayor tolerates it.

Mayor Belen’s loyal allies who have seen how the 7 epaLiFes conducted themselves since they came to power as the majority, have started to wonder why she didn’t and hasn’t fought back, and gave the arrogant councilors their due.

The seasoned political power players say she has all the cards that would beat the 7 epaLiFes’s minds to a pulp but she refuses to do it.

They are in agreement that 1) She should first file the cases vs. the 7 epaLiFes without further ado.  Forget the “appeal”.  2) If the latter continues to push the annual budget back further, she should file the next set of criminal charges against their allies behind the scholarship mess.  3) And if the 7 epaLiFes still resist and continue to stop the 2023 budget, she should file the next set of charges against those behind the CCTV scam… and so on… 4) The filing should continue until the 2023 budget is passed. 

In brief, the series of filing against their corrupt allies will find the 7 epaLiFes’ being blamed for the charges filed against them to court  all because they  refused  to pass the budget.

And throughout, she should never agree to a compromise making her withdraw all charges filed after each phase in return for the approval.  If she withdraws the cases, it can only mean she agreed to be under their power again. Once the filing starts, there should be no turning back. No more dialogue, no more compromises. “Time to be feisty… and angry, para sa Dagupan,” they said.

This is the legit blackmail strategy they say that will force the 7 epaLiFes to come to terms with their shitty arrogance that’s taking its toll on their constituents. Once the offensive starts, the reckless, egotistic councilors will have no choice but to bow to the executive in every respect.

So, if the 7 epaLiFes care to spare themselves and their allies a certain court conviction, they ought to consider preempting the mayor today before she files the cases. Indeed, it’s time for her to responds to her own challenge: “Ilaban mo su baley!

It should be a win-win for her and the city.

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STOP THE QIA+. Here’s something for the QIA+ (Queer, intersex, Asexsual and others) in Pangasinan who publicly supports drag queen Pura Luka Vega’s rude, disrespectful and almost criminal antics that he defends as a form of art!

In his latest Facebook post, an unremorseful Vega wrote in reaction to move of a number of towns and cities banning her presence: “Tell me exactly what I did wrong. I’m open for a   dialogue and yet cities have been declaring me persona non grata without even knowing me or understanding the intent of the performance. Drag is art. You judge me yet you don’t even know me.”

Is this how members of QIA+ think?? He already made himself known by his actions, how can others know him any other way?

This is akin to a homicidal freak who says he is justified in hurting people, so governments should understand why and let him be! Really now?

I’m afraid that if for any reason the SOGIE law is passed, heaven forbid, the likes of Pura Luka Vega and his ilk in the QIA+ sector will find every reason to invoke their right to be rude and disrespectful and not be held accountable. This is dangerous and the decent and respectable among the LGBT sector know it.

Let our local governments make it known to the drags and their supporters that there is no law that protects rudeness, crassness, disrespectfulness and sheer impertinence.

And keep the LGBT out of it in defending yourselves!

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