Thursday, April 05, 2007 Congressional bet claims sabotage on medical mission By Lizanilla J. Amarga
SEVERAL medical missions and campaign sorties of Genuine Opposition (GO)-PDP-Laban second district congressional bet Rufus Rodriguez were somehow either "sabotaged" or turned down by barangay officials who are identified with the PaDayon Pilipino led by Mayor Vicente Emano.
But Association of Barangay Captains (ABC)-Cagayan de Oro chairman and PaDayon Pilipino city councilor bet Puntod chairman Alexander Dacer denied such allegations against their group, saying such reports are "lies that are only aimed to put them in a bad light and gain the people's sympathies."
Still, mayoral candidates Antonio Calingin from the National People's Coalition (NPC) and former Cagayan de Oro city mayor Pablo Magtajas from GO-PDP-Laban denounced how Emano's barangay leaders are employing dirty tactics to put down their opponents.
GO-PDP-Laban second district city councilor Manuel Ravanera said: "They are depriving the people of their constitutional right to good health. The local government has been so deficient in providing health care services to its constituency."
"I pity my relatives and the people of Puntod and those from the other barangays who would have received the services of the medical mission if not for the dirty politics employed by the other camp," he said.
During the Abante Mindanao, Inc. gathering in Sitio Tapia, Barangay Puntod last Tuesday night, Rodriguez told the participants that they were to conduct their meeting at Sitio San Nicolas on that same barangay.
However, he said Barangay Puntod barangay officials cut off their electric supply and even put up a barricade using a huge empty truck to block the way for those who would have wanted to join their meeting.
"But all these are nothing as we are still here, gathered together," he told his audience.
Rodriquez's wife, Nenen, recounted how they are conducting medical missions with her husband pulling all resources to bring in free medicines and 13 volunteer doctors from Manila for these activities.
But she said barangay officials aligned with Emano are giving them a hard time with others declining their requests to use some barangay facilities.
"But we are not discouraged," she said. "It is now the people who are angry at their barangay chairmen as to why he would not allow them to avail of these free medical services."
Rodriguez told the participants that they wanted to conduct a medical mission last Friday in Barangay Puntod but was not given permission by the barangay officials.
He said they were forced to hold it at Barangay Gusa instead.
"I am thankful that in Barangay Gusa, the barangay captain there was very supportive and a lot of his constituents benefited from our medical mission," he said.
But Rodriguez added there were other barangays that have actually refused the medical mission he and his brother Max wanted to hold.
"In Barangay Cugman there was a communication that they do not want a medical mission there," he said.
Rodriguez said they also recently held a medical mission in Barangay Camaman-an and that the people were already at the covered court as early as 7 a.m.
However, he said the barangay officials there did not allow them the use of the barangay facilities.
"So, we were forced to put up tents and still we were able to service 52 circumcisions, 120 tooth extractions and over 300 medical check-ups with free medicines for adults and children," he said. "This is only the start."
Rodriguez said they will conduct medical missions in other barangays still.
A resident during the Abante gathering stood up and offered that she is willing to donate whatever electricity needs the medical mission might need and help facilitate the holding a medical mission in their sitio.
"We really need this because in our sitio, the children there are suffering from what seems to be a different kind of chicken pox," she said.
Rodriguez asked his brother Max to arrange the holding of such medical mission in this resident's sitio.
No truth
But Dacer, PaDayon city councilor bet, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Wednesday night that there is no truth to Rodriguez's words that he cut off electric lights and had the road barricaded.
He said he was with their PaDayon Pilipino group that night and that he left as OIC barangay councilor Bingky Beja.
"Rufus should have cleared first with councilman Beja before he initiated anything in our barangay," he said.
Dacer also debunked statements that he refused the holding of a medical mission in his barangay.
He said what he heard was that the medical mission was to be conducted in a public school in their barangay and that the principal had already given it her nod.
"These things are only part of Rodriguez's ploy to gain the people's sympathies," he said.
Rodriguez said they expected these attempts to "sabotage" their medical mission and that they came prepared with tents and other amenities of their own.
"It is difficult because we are with the opposition but they should not have attempted to block any move that would benefit their constituents," he said.
