GOVERNMENT officials and election candidates have been throwing muck at each other in the last days before May 13.
They either are the subject of complaints or they initiated the filing of complaints against the other. The allegations ranged from illegal drug protection to illegal gambling.
This is the season for throwing mud at each other in the hope of killing the chances of the opponent in the elections this Monday, May 13. But will the charges and counter-charges bring about clean and orderly elections? No. They make the political situation murky and voters are now left with the question of who to believe.
It is in line with the elections that parties are into raising allegations and suing each other. When the dust settles and the counting of votes show the winners, will these cases be pursued? If the complainant loses, will he or she pursue the case against the winner? How about the other way around? Will the winner pursue cases against the losing candidate?
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is facing a complaint before the Ombudsman for grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public official and neglect of duty for being caught playing poker inside an illegal gambling place last January. The mayor said this was not the first time he faced a complaint before the Ombudsman. “They have filed a dozen cases against me and I’ll let my lawyers take care of that,” he said.
Another case Osmeña is facing is the one about his being a “protector” of butane refilling operations. The Cebu City Police Office filed before the Ombudsman in 2018 a complaint against him over the release of three men who were arrested for selling butane canisters refilled with liquefied petroleum gas, an illegal act.
Osmeña, for his part, has made allegations against Cebu City Police Office Director Royina Garma and the camp of Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who is running for mayor.
Osmeña had said Garma allegedly received a weekly payola of P1 million from illegal gambling operators in Bohol during her stint as chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7. Garma denied the allegations and said she was already in Cebu as police chief when reports on this first came out in November last year.
Osmeña has been critical of Garma over what he termed as police harassment of his supporters in the city’s mountain barangays.
The mayor also filed with the Ombudsman complaints against City Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. for violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Law for allegedly maligning him. Alcover belongs to the Labella camp.
The same throwing of charges between opposing camps is happening in Mandaue and in other places.
All these charges must be serious. They are linked to the electoral challenge but the incidents complained of and the illegal acts alleged are worthy of pursuing. The charges should be followed through, no matter the result of the elections.