Friday, November 24, 2006 Councilor lays conditions for ex-mayor support By Lizanilla J. Amarga
OPPOSITION Councilor Zaldy Ocon is laying down "pre-conditions" to former city mayor Pablo "Ambing" Magtajas and former city vice mayor Antonio "Tony" Soriano before he and his supporters will cast their lot with the two former public servants.
Socialist United Local Opposition Groups (Sulog) convener Frederico Gapuz is looking into accepting Councilor Alvin Calingin into the opposition group's fold.
Gapuz and the Sulog core group are also gearing up for a meeting next week.
Ocon, who is currently the station manager of Radio Mindanao Network-Cagayan de Oro, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Thursday that he and his supporters will not be fully casting their support in favor of Magtajas and Soriano just yet.
He said Magtajas should first sign a covenant promising to "actually and really" file charges against Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano and his cohorts in court.
"Magtajas should affix their signatures to an agreement to really send Emano to jail," he said.
Ocon said this as he voiced suspicions that once Magtajas sits as mayor, no charges will be filed against Emano just as Emano did not charge Magtajas with any irregularity in court.
Ocon said he is also asking Soriano to actually help out in producing the Memorandum of Agreement between the City Government of Cagayan de Oro represented by Emano and UKC Builders, Inc. on the multi-million Redevelopment of the Cogon Public Market.
According to him, Soriano's firm is involved in the Emano-UKC contract on the Cogon Public Market redevelopment and has a copy of the agreement.
"The Cogon Public Market redevelopment contract is a public record. Soriano should come forward with a copy of it," Ocon said.
Local opposition political lieutenant and former city councilor Dr. Bob Ocio said Ocon has every right to come out with such pre-conditions before casting support for Magtajas.
However, Ocio said there are still several other members of the opposition who have sinned more against the people of the city.
"That is his (Ocon) right but we should first eliminate those who have more grave sins and whose loyalty to the opposition is doubtful such as the Twin Calingins," he said, referring to Councilor Calingin and former Misamis Oriental governor Antonio Calingin who had earlier voiced his desire to run for city mayor of Cagayan de Oro.
For Ocon, there will be no problem on having Magtajas sign a covenant to file charges against Emano and send the PaDayon Pilipino titular head to jail.
"I don't think Ambing (Magtajas) will have any objection to that," he said.
Ocio confided his doubts on the loyalty of Soriano particularly as the latter is receiving huge sums of money being a senior partner of the law firm handling the affairs of UKC Builders, Inc.
"If he is serious about his candidacy bid then he should take steps to try to erase those doubts and come out openly in lambasting Dongkoy and file charges against him," he said.
Gapuz for his part said he is still going to look into whether or not Sulog will accept Councilor Calingin into their group.
"We will talk together," he said, adding that he and the Sulog core group will be having a meeting next week.
