PEOPLE are talking about...
* SARA CALLING JV EJERCITO 'THE ENEMY OF JINGGOY ESTRADA": That was how the Davao City mayor, Sara Duterte-Carpio, introduced JV at a Davao rally. The feud of the siblings (half brothers, with different mothers) has become so widespread that it's now grist in the campaign's joke mill. Their dad, Manila Mayor Erap Estrada, the only former president convicted of plunder, later said his boys are old enough to settle the quarrel between themselves. But it's already a long-running hate relationship. Jinggoy wouldn't ride with him in an elevator, JV told Cebu journalists in a recent visit.
* KRIS AQUINO SAYING PUBLICLY THAT PHILIP SALVADOR DEVERGINIZED HER. Stung by the Bong Go-Salvador scripted antic on the campaign stage, Kris said the father of their child should stop embarrassing her. Bong Go would say "You fooled Kris" while Salvador would protest and deny, "Hindi ko niloloko si Kris." Clearly, Go is using the segment with Salvador as gimmick to increase people's awareness of him and his candidacy. A tactic used only by candidates who have the money to drag a big-name star to his or her campaign.
Evasco-Damalerio drama
Thursday (February 28) was the deadline set by Bohol Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II for candidate for governor Leoncio Evasco Jr. to produce evidence of illegal drugs against Damalerio or he "would hang" Evasco on a flagpole.
As of Thursday morning, Evasco, the former Cabinet secretary, was reported to be waiting in Maribojoc, with a rope around his neck, before a large crowd, including news reporters, that watched the drama unfold.
Can Cebu beat that? Despite all the theatrics in the Edgar Labella/Mike Rama vs. Tomas Osmena skirmish and the "withdraw or die" threat note wrapped around two bullets in the Sonny Osmeña-Gay Yapha duel in the third district congressional fight, Cebu was eclipsed by Bohol in the Damalerio-Evasco stage act.
Damalerio has been repeatedly linked to illegal drugs by the opposition. And Evasco has blamed Damalerio's boss, Governor Edgar Chatto, for the proliferation of drugs in Bohol. "Beside him," a Bohol Chronicle report quoted Evasco, "is the provincial administrator who is behind (illegal) drugs in Bohol." Governor Chatto, who will finish his third consecutive term on June 30, is running for congressman. Opposing Evasco and supported by Chatto under the Padayon Bol-anon coalition is Representative Arthur Yap of the province third district.
Last February 11, Damalerio publicly challenged PDEA, NBI, PNP and CIDG that if Evasco could not prove on February 28 his allegation, "i-ugbok og balik nang flagpole nga imong gitangtang sa Maribojoc, ikaw ibitay nako." Apparently, Evasco had a Maribojoc flagpole torn down, a reference that neither the Chronicle story nor a Superbalita column from Bohol explained.
Plunder case: filed or not?
A lawyer from Representative Jonas Cortes's camp said Thursday they have yet to receive a copy of a supposed complaint for plunder against the congressman for the sale in 2015 (when he was mayor) of 35,821 square meters lot to a firm owned by the Ouanos for P50 per square meter alleging the loss of P428 million by the City Government.
Has that plunder case been filed already?
When the news broke on September 17 last year, Bzzzzz noted that the lead in the Philstar.com story said the complainants, Bernard Cabatingan and Analin Maquilan, were "set to file ...." The next day, another Philstar story on the subject led off with "The camp of Rep. Jonas Cortes has not yet received the complaint of plunder..."
Never mind the curious ways the story broke. But Philstar didn't report any filing, or so one archive showed. It was the Inquirer that published it, more than a month later, on October 23, 2018. Inquirer.net said a complaint was filed with the office of the ombudsman (central office or Visayas office, it did not specify), involving the same property, alleging the same fraud but naming another pair of complainants: Abner Quinio and Emmanuel Esperito. One can guess that the Cabatingan-Maquilan duo had backed out; thus the delay and the change of litigants.
If it's true that Cortes's lawyers still have to see a copy of the complaint, people should wonder. The Luigi Quisumbing camp should've been waving a copy of the plunder complaint already. Last January 8, LQ ordered the city legal office to recover the "grossly undervalued" property. The news report didn't mention any plunder case filed.
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