WHETHER it is true or not about the rumor of a Cebu City councilor having an affair with a City Hall employee is none of our business. Or as we say in Cebuano: “Wala nay labot ang lungsod ana.” That’s the councilor’s personal business.

But this is what reportedly happened. According to the rumor mills at City Hall the councilor was attacked with a pail by his wife in the house of his paramour.

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The third party reportedly is a member of the Mayor’s Management Team, while the councilor’s wife also works in City Hall. However there are no independent sources to confirm the incident, not even acting Mayor Michael Rama and members of the council.

For me, the issue is not a big deal. We can only criticize the official if he uses his position and government funds for his extra-marital affair. What is anomalous and condemnable is the action of another city official who sometimes brings his girlfriend during official trips abroad, as if the two were having a honeymoon. Is the City Government paying for his girlfriend’s expenses? Just asking?

There is the moral implication of the city official’s affair, considering he is married. So he should be ready to face the consequences of his action, both in public and within his family. This is similar to what happened to former councilor Firmo Dayao, who resigned following allegations that he impregnated a City Hall employee.

But according to sources it was Dayao’s wife Olivia who forced him to step down and return to Hawaii, where the couple was based before he joined politics.

But who are we to judge the city councilor? Leave that to so-called moralists. Then again, we can’t even condemn and call immoral the action of some people, like priests, who are prohibited from engaging in sex yet do so anyway. Yet we expect public officials to be morally upright because they serve as role models in our society.

So why should the City Council, the anti-graft office and the Department of Interior and Local Government investigate this matter when there is no complainant? Let the wife of the city councilor file a complaint first before starting any probe of some sort. But I doubt the wife will formally file a complaint. If there is an issue here, it is the employment of the city councilor’s wife at City Hall. Who hired her and when?

Was she already there before her husband was elected? Is this a policy of the Osmeña administration to allow the wife of a councilor to be employed at City Hall?

I was informed that Councilor Edwin Jagmoc’s wife works at City Hall, though I am not saying the subject of the rumor is him. If that is the case Councilors Jack Jakosalem, Cris Alix, Jun Pe and others can also employ their respective wives at City Hall. What a total waste of government funds.

Married public officials having affairs is common and is no longer an issue. In fact, the practice is already acceptable in our society. Even the most powerful, influential, rich and famous leaders in the world have tried it, at least once. Remember former US president Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky? They even did it inside the Oval Office. The kings and queens of England can also be added to the list.

Just recently, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina admitted having a romantic liaison with a woman from Argentina. Former president Fidel Ramos was rumored to have an affair with socialite Baby Arenas. Former president Joseph Estrada didn’t only have one affair, but several. Yet the Filipino people overwhelmingly voted for him.

Wala na ba diay katungod ug kagawasan ang usa ka tawo nga mahigugma ug gihugma-on bisan kon aduna na siyay kabilinggan sa kinabuhi? Kamo bay mahigugma, lalim ba. Ako ning ipa-miyembro sa akong “Sana Group” kining maong konsihal. Sana dalawa ang puso ko. Pero ang usa ka sekreto, di gyod magpasakop aron dili mabunalan ug balde. Ang wala matubag nga pangutana kung nabuak ba ang balde?

(bgnalzaro@gmanetwork.com)