Saturday, January 21, 2006
Caraga mayor, hubby welcome 'lifestyle check'
By Antonio M. Ajero
MAYOR Alicia B. Mori of Caraga, Davao Oriental said she and her husband Stanley, whom she succeeded as mayor, welcome the lifestyle check that the National Bureau of Investigation is reportedly conducting on them as a result of the complaint of their political opponents.
"We have nothing to hide. Our life as a family is an open book," Alicia, who is in her fourth term as town mayor, told reporters in Davao City Friday afternoon.
She said that before they joined politics, they were business couple and this is known to their constituents in Caraga who are the best ones to conduct the lifestyle check.
"We will be glad to submit ourselves to a lifestyle check so that the truth will be known to everybody that we have not enriched ourselves in office and that on the contrary, we have resorted to making loans and pawning our house every time there is an election," she said.
Mori said the lifestyle check was resorted after the office of the Ombudsman for Mindanao junked for lack of merit the graft complaint of their political foes.
"We built our home in Davao City and two buildings in Caraga, before I even became barangay captain," the mayor said.
Mori said they would not mind if cases filed against them by political detractors reach the courts if that is the only way to prove they have not done anything wrong.
"We believe that wrongdoing will only bring us trouble and misery, a reason we have not compromised principles in public service," Mori said.
On the other hand, honesty, sincerity, and fear of doing foolishness in public service will bring blessings and handsome rewards from the Almighty, added Mori.
"I am not ashamed to tell Caraguenos that while it is true that they consistently voted for me, it was through their ballots that God has appointed me to this position," Mori said.
Speaking of elections, she said, Caraguenos can attest to the fact that the Moris have been winning electoral contests for more than a decade now "fair and square" and have never been identified with vote-buying and terrorism.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (January 21, 2006 issue)
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