Saturday, December 08, 2007 Mayor belies priest's denial By Raymond C. Garcia
MINALIN -- Mayor Edgardo Flores has belied the claim made Thursday by the former parish priest of Sta. Monica parish that he did not use the pulpit to attack the local official.
In an interview, Flores said the priest's denial "was not true" since there were many people who had heard him repeatedly attacking elected officials here whenever he celebrated mass.
"Marami ang nakarinig sa kanya at hindi lang minsan yon, and there were times pa daw na very particular siya sa mayor," Flores said.
Last Wednesday, Father Manuel Sta. Maria denied that he was lambasting elected officials through his daily and weekly homilies.
"Ang sinasabi ko lang po sa mga homilies ko, Mayor and Sangguniang Bayan members, sana po matulungan ninyo akong maipasara yung mga illegal fishponds doon sa malapit sa Cullaman river," Sta. Maria said earlier.
Flores said it saddens him, particularly since they have maintained a very good working relationship with the former parish priests and with the church as well and it was only during Sta. Maria's term that this kind of problem had arisen.
He also said Sta. Maria left a number of questions unanswered, even saying that the former parish priest was just making "a camouflage" out of the issue regarding the "sasa" plants.
"We are pro-environment and we are the proponent of those "sasa" trees. Why then will we destroy them?" Flores asked.
"Perhaps he was receiving wrong information about the Cullaman River and with this, I see him as an irresponsible priest if he is allowing himself to be used by our political rivals," Flores added.
Flores has found an ally in Vice Mayor Edgardo Yambao who said that he agrees with the mayor's statement that their former parish priest had used the pulpit to lambaste elected officials in Minalin.
Yambao also said there were no illegal acquisitions along the Cullaman River, saying that the area in question was part of the 4,000 hectares alienable and dispensable lands which now belongs to the municipality of Minalin.
The encroachment does not impede the flow of the river either, according to Yambao.
"I am appealing to Father Manny as a fellow Assumptan and as a brother, pwede pa nating pag-usapan ito para maayos and we will be promoting unity not divisiveness," he said.
Flores meantime reiterated his appeal and request to Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto to mediate in order to bring the issue to a close.
"The pulpit for me is not a venue for political expression but a sacred place to preach the gospel," Flores said.
Last Wednesday Sta. Maria said the construction of the fishponds along Cullaman River, which he described as illegal, was the reason for the destruction of the "sasa" that they planted for livelihood purposes. The "sasa," he said, will help stabilize the riverbanks, which has been affected over the years by massive soil erosion brought downpour and constant flooding.
