FORMER Cagayan de Oro City mayor Vicente Emano broke his silence on Monday, August 13, on the new graft cases filed against him, saying these might push him again to run against his rival, incumbent mayor Oscar Moreno, in the 2019 midterm elections.
Emano earlier announced that he is retiring from politics due to lack of resources, but with the complaints filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman in the past few months, he said he might bid anew for a mayoral seat.
The erstwhile mayor said his political rivals are probably trembling in fear that he might run again for the highest post in the city and thought that these cases might prevent him from doing so.
"Kining ilang gipasaka nga kaso dugay na kaayo ni karon pa nagpasaka tungod sa ilang kabalaka ug kahadlok nga modagan pa gihapon ko pagkamayor,"Emano said.
Emano accused Moreno of having had a hand in the Ombudsman cases in order to get even.
"Wala may lain tingali nga nagpaluyo ani nga mga kaso siya ra man aron makapanabla, aron ingnon nga naa pud akong kaso ug duna silay issue nga magamit batok nako. Mao man tingali na ilang tuyo," Emano said.
The political kingpin and founder of local party Padayon Pilipino said he would discuss his political plans with the party.
Filing of the certificate of candidacy for the 2019 midterm elections will start in October 2018.
"Ingon ko dili na ko modagan kay wala koy kwarta pero karon nga nagpasaka sila og kaso tan-awon nato. Amo ning hisgutan. Anything is possible in politics,"Emano said.
Emano said he is unfazed by the new cases filed by a certain Ernesto Molina and former Mambuaya village worker Danilo Daaca before the Ombudsman.
Molina filed two complaints against Emano. One case is in connection with the controversial pork barrel scam through a non-government organization and the other is about the questionable release of calamity funds in 2013.
Daaca accused Emano of liability for the controversial “Telepono sa Barangay” mess in early 2000.
City hall at that time contracted with Supplier-Contractor Networking Telecommunications (Scantel) for the implementation of the telephone project in the rural barangays of the city, which later found to have technical problems in the implementation.
Emano clarified that the case linked with the pork barrel scam had already been answered before the Commission on Audit (COA). He said he would look into the other case pertaining to the release of the calamity fund.
He also maintained that there is no anomaly in the implementation of the "Telepono sa Barangay” project.
Emano said he would face the Ombudsman and confidently answer the accusations.
"Kani nga mga issues dugay na unya ngano karon pa man nagpasaka og kaso? Pero dili pwede nga dili ni atubangon kay wala koy sala nga nahimo ug politika ang hinungdan niini," Emano said.
(These happened a long time ago. Why file a case only now? But I will face this because I am innocent. Politics is behind this.)