Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Graft raps a desperate attempt to destroy me: guv
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Pampanga Governor Mark Lapid said Vice Governor Yeng Guiao is "consumed with hatred" even as he dismissed the graft case filed by the vice governor as "a desperate attempt to destroy his reputation."
"Yeng's complaint is simply another desperate attempt to destroy my name. This has been his agenda ever since. He is consumed with hatred, and he is out for vengeance at all cost," Lapid said.
"I have nothing to hide. There is nothing irregular in quarry operations in the province. All the collections have been remitted to the Provincial Treasurer's Office," he said.
Lapid believed that he will be vindicated by the court and by the people of Pampanga in the future.
Based on the approved 2006 and 2007 budgets of the Pampanga Provincial Government, Lapid said, "the expected revenue from quarry operations was P30 million. This was the amount recommended by the Local Finance Committee and subsequently approved by the Pampanga Provincial Board (PB) of which Guiao is the presiding officer. We have reviewed the budget hearings and we cannot find any objection from the vice governor as to the expected revenue from quarry taxes. So, how come he is whimpering now? His figures are to say the least just product of a very dangerous mind."
The governor added that Guiao cannot simply accept the electoral loss of his late father to then governor now Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid. "If indeed he (Guiao) had a case against me, why didn't he file it long before the election season? His ploy is simply to get media mileage even at the expense destroying other people's reputation," he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Lapid and his running mate Paul "Concon" Laus are set to file their certificates of candidacy on Wednesday before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office.
The younger Lapid is confident that the people of Pampanga will still support him in his reelection.
"As I seek reelection, I pledge to my Cabalens that my party mates and I will run this campaign on a high moral ground. We stand firm in our conviction that Pampanga must enjoy the blessings of freedom. Freedom from fear and intimidation, freedom of enterprise, and freedom of expression. The days of dictatorship have passed. Let us not allow another form of dictatorship borne out of 'guns, goons, and gold' to thrive in our province. Malayang Pampanga will be our battle cry," he said.
