Saturday, March 24, 2007 Editorial: The story of Kara and Josefa
THE appeal of the sons of Representative Monico Puentevella to Mayor Evelio Leonardia to exclude them and their Mommy Josefa from political bickering is valid.
Just as the mayor made the same appeal in November 2004, asking the media to spare his daughter Kara from any issue involving him.
Kara at that time was reported to have gone to a resort in Cauayan town in southern Negros for a Hallowen escapade allegedly using a government vehicle.
The vivid image of Mayor Leonardia as he cried and appealed to the members of the press to spare his daughter, son and wife from the issue is impressed to the minds of the media people present during that press conference.
His words then were striking - "Attack me everyday for I can bear all your criticism but please spare Kara because she's innocent, she's intelligent and she's a promising girl and she cannot understand yet about politics."
Now, the same scenario is happening with the Puentevellas.
The only difference is that Mrs. Josefa Puentevella was not attacked by the media but was criticized by the mayor himself.
Mrs. Puentevella was criticized after granting an interview with the media during one of the hearings for the petition for mandamus they filed against the mayor on the Happy Bingo issue.
Mrs. Puentevella at that time asked Leonardia to have a conscience and spare their family and encourage young businessmen to invest in the city instead of scaring them away.
Josefa, like Kara, is innocent about politics.
So why attack the congressman's wife when you yourself wanted to shield your daughter from unfavorable issues.
If the mayor cares for his daughter Kara, Cong. Puentevella also cares for his wife, Josefa.
We hope that Kara's case in 2004 will served as a lesson to Mayor Leonardia and be reminded of the incident the next time he utter a word against anyone.
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