Information Office Remiss on its Duty?

By Mortz Ortigoza

It seems the City Information Office of Dagupan City is remiss on its duty to repel the criticisms launched by the political detractors of Mayor Benjie S. Lim.

Take these three damaging attacks for example where the name of the mayor was dragged:

1)      He bypassed the Sangguniang Panlungsod by not approving the P13.1 million calamity fund in 2010; 2) He was responsible for the demolition of settlers at Sitio Opot in Brgy. Bonuan Gueset; 3) Administrator Vlad Mata illegally signed the waiver in lieu of the Certificate of Final Electrical Inspection (CFEI) from the City Engineering Office for the building of illegal structures   at Sitio Silungan in Bonuan Binloc.

I did not hear the sides of the mayor rebutting these scathing attacks thru the press releases of the CIO until I discussed this with the city administrator last week.

Mata emphatically torpedoed the three issues by the following:

1)      SP was not bypassed. He said new Republic Act 10121 or known as "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010” says that the mayor can use even 100 percent of the five (5) percent Calamity fund from the Internal Revenue Allotment without the dads’ imprimatur; 2) Demolition at Sitio Opot was an order from a court through a Writ of Execution in behalf of the private owner; 3) His signature affixed above the printed name of Mayor Lim was a forgery. Mata said he is ready to sue with Falsification of Public Document the person who forged his signature.

Mata deplored that he learned the No. 3 issue last Thursday or four (4) days after the detractors of Lim were exploiting it with gusto.

Mata confidently explained that waiver he allegedly signed was bogus.

Firstly, the new logo of the city was attached at the waiver in November 10, 2010 when the city has only started using it last June or July 2011; secondly, the signature was signed by the malefactor by using a ball pen. Mata said he uses a sign pen every time he signs a document; thirdly, every page of the waiver has a stamped seal. Mata said that Mayor Lim uses only the city in his official letter.

Mata told me that the people at the CIO should be updating him pronto after the detractors break the news for public consumption.

These faux passes could serve as a wake up call to the Joseph Goebbels at the information office

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A police colonel told me recently that being appointed as Chief of Police (CoP) in the past meant a windfall.

“A chief of police in a municipality was given a P3,000 a day payola or P90 thousand a month,” he reminisced.

He told me that the amount was solely intended for him only. His deputy  and the budget for the daily meal of his men have different appropriations from the jueteng operator.

“Police life then was much better then than now”.

He said that a chief of a city police receives more than one can imagine than his counterpart in the town.

***

Is there a brewing war between Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) Dr. Roland Mejia and Dagupan City Health Office chief Dr. Leonard Carbonel?

In a press conference I attended lately, media man Joel Balolong asked Dr. Mejia if there was due process when R1MC suspended the physician daughter of Dr. Carbonel.

Mejia answered in the affirmative. He said after R1MC asked her to explain her offense, that was already due process.

Mejia earlier told me that the daughter of Carbonel committed medical “malpractice” by initiating a caesarean operation without a baby being delivered by a mother from the womb.

“Even though the patient did not file a complaint, she still responsible and she should be punished for her acts,” he explained.

Mejia said the father of the erring physician wanted to lift the suspension and wanted the R1MC to give the back wages of his daughter from the time she was suspended.

“It could no happen because if I do that it would be as if his daughter was not punished”.

He told me and a media man that the lady physician’s license would be prejudiced in case somebody reported her wrong doing at the Philippine Regulatory Commission.

(You can read my selected intriguing but thought-provoking columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com).