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Friday, February 10, 2006
'Oro dad is a bogus witness'
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
MAYOR Vicente Emano believes that City Councilor Alvin Calingin would make a 'bogus witness' should the latter heed calls for him to stand as state witness against the mayor in the 18-count graft charges lodged at the Ombudsman.
A former city councilor and opposition leader believe that the "greatest reparation" that Calingin could do as "atonement of his sins" is to stand as state witness against Emano and the other respondents.
Also, there are now reports that lawyer Ed Tamondong, who filed the case against Emano, is accused by some members of the local opposition as being paid to drop the charges.
Meanwhile, Emano kept his cool on calls made by the local opposition even including his former ally now turned nemesis Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. that Calingin should stand as a state witness against him.
This even as the opposition's call is aimed to fast track the 90-day preventive suspension against the mayor and his allies.
"Iya kanang katungod pero unsa nga klase kana nga witness wala ako kabalo kay wala man kami sala (That is Calingin's right to stand as witness against us but as to what kind of witness that would be I don't know as we have not committed anything wrong)," he said over dxIF Bombo Radyo Thursday.
Nevertheless, Emano questioned Calingin's integrity should the latter stand as state witness against them.
Atonement
Calingin was one of the supporters and prime movers of the mayor's Piso-Piso Resettlement/Relocation Land scheme.
"Niadto isa man siya sa misuporta niining Piso-Piso unya unsa siya nga klase nga witness? (In the past, Calingin is one of those who supported the Piso-Piso land distribution scheme what kind of witness would he be?)," he said.
The Piso-Piso land distribution scheme is among the 18 counts graft charges slapped against Emano, former vice mayor John Elizaga, former city treasurer Zenaida Lago and nine other city councilors.
But former city councilor and opposition political lieutenant Bob Ocio believes that Calingin should stand as state witness not just to expose the truth, but also, as "atonement for his sins" when the city councilor teamed up with Emano.
"Alvin can best make reparation by acting as state witness in the corruption cases filed against the Emano leadership," he said.
"Any move on his part to question Emano today and to claim leadership of the opposition won't absolve him from his previous actions."
Calingin has recently been stripped of his committee positions at the City Council. He has severed ties with Emano.
Frustration
In separate interviews, opposition leaders voiced strong convictions that once Calingin turns state witness against Emano, the Ombudsman would have no other choice but "to declare the existence of probable cause to file the graft charges at the Sandiganbayan."
The finding of probable cause would then bring about the 90-day preventive suspension against Emano and respondent city councilors.
Former Cagayan de Oro mayor now Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. said, "If Alvin (Calingin) spills the beans on Emano, the latter will be in boiling water."
The other alleged graft charge is the irregularities surrounding the P600 million Taguanao-Balulang bridge that, like Emano's Piso-Piso land distribution program, was found by the Commission on Audit (COA) as "disadvantageous to the government."
The charges were filed by Tamondong, who ran as local mayoralty bet against Emano in the 2004 Election, since 2002.
He has so far expressed frustrations over what seems to be the Ombudsman's inaction over the charges. Tamondong is now contemplating on dropping the case.
But Emano Thursday disclosed that he received reports that some of the 'divided local opposition' leaders are under the perception that Tamondong is being paid to drop the charges against them.
"There are reports that those from the local opposition believe that Tamondong has been paid to drop the charges," he said in the dialect.
He added that this is not surprising as in the past there were verbal exchanges between opposition leaders former city vice-mayor lawyer Antonio Soriano and Manolo Tagarda regarding the latter being in some "moral crisis."
(February 10, 2006 issue)
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