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Monday, August 29, 2005
Maxey: House of horrors
By Ram Maxey
Bar None
"The mayor's concern over the council war was the possible fallout on visitors who were in town for the Kadayawan Festival."
WE WERE proven wrong. We had expected the animosity between two groups in the City Council, which simmered down somewhat in deference to the weeklong Kadayawan Festival at the request of Mayor Rody Duterte, to give way to serious legislation at long last.
Well, it turns out that our expectation of a lasting ceasefire was not to be. Councilor Diosdado Mahipus, the vitriolic spokesperson of the self-styled "conscience bloc" in the council, in an interview with the press last Thursday, resumed the word war with a scathing denunciation of Vice Mayor Luis Bonguyan for having earlier allegedly attacked "the integrity" of Councilor Nenita Orcullo. The latter belongs to the six-man bloc of Mahipus.
Mahipus' tirade against Bonguyan was spiced with such phrases as "childish tantrums"..."immature, insensible and effeminate"..."dastardly act"..."misguided soul of the leadership" (Bonguyan's).
What caught my eye and made me wonder if Dado really meant what he said was, as quoted by Sun.Star reporter Aurea Gerundio: "Such act smacks of decency and fair play which should be sanctioned with a stiff penalty..."
The word "smacks" as applied here means "having a flavor or taste of..." Ergo, Bonguyan's "dastardly act" had a "flavor or taste of" decency? What's "decent" can hardly be described as "dastardly". So why should it be "sanctioned"? It's not healthy for one to spit recklessly against the wind.
Be that as it may, Dado took Bonguyan to task for allegedly violating the ceasefire brokered by Mayor Duterte. But the mayor's concern over the council war was the possible fallout on visitors who were in town for the Kadayawan Festival. He did not want them to get the impression that that the city council is a house divided in the midst of revelry.
For all we know, the mayor doesn't care a hoot whether the two warring tribes--"conscience bloc" and the "OTHER conscience bloc" resume their infighting. They
also do it in Congress, lest we forget. There is no telling how far this war of accusation and counter-accusation will go, nor if either or both groups will ever feel conscience-stricken for indulging in endless polemics not in aid of legislation.
If Vice Mayor Bonguyan and his bloc decide not to be outdone and return fire at their detractors, we will know without a doubt that the political circus is back in town with its main attraction: The House of Horrors. Ugh!
(August 29, 2005 issue)
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