BARANGAY officials are supposed to be non-partisan. Meaning, they are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities, especially during the election period. But who among our village officials, especially barangay captains, are not engaged in partisan politics? Even Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials admitted that there is no law directly stopping barangay officials from being affiliated with a political party after they are elected. Because if there is a law, barangay officials should not affiliate themselves with a political party and should not allow themselves to be used by politicians for the latter’s political agenda.
Look what happened in Lapu-Lapu City.
Lone District Rep. Paz Radaza is using barangay captains affiliated with her as “pawns” in her political agenda to get back at Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan. These barangay captains have allowed themselves to be used by their political patron. They are Radaza’s robots.
Some 28 barangay captains headed by their Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Eduardo Cuizon filed charges before the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman against Mayor Chan for grave coercion, grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public officer, grave abuse of authority, oppression and violation of Section 3 (paragraph E) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The village chiefs’ cause of action is that Chan evicted Radaza from her office at the City Hall. They claimed that Chan padlocked Radaza’s office, blocked and harassed her staff and deprived the congresswoman’s constituents of access to her office for their needs and projects. Pero morag kulang pa tong ilang kaso. I-apil ta tong “illegal discharge of cat waste” kay gibutangan man ug hugaw sa iring ang lamesa sa mga staff ni Radaza. Pagkatoytoy!
Do you think the barangay captains filed these cases against Chan on their own volition? There is somebody behind this move and it’s no other than the congresswoman. But why is Ma’am Paz hiding under the briefs (not skirts) of these barangay captains? She is the aggrieved party. If she thinks that her rights were violated by Mayor Chan’s actions, then, by all means, she should be the one to personally file the case.
I am not a fan of Chan. In fact, I only met him once by accident in a shopping mall after he won the elections. I was on my way to attend the birthday party of my close friend Raul Laurente in a buffet restaurant when I met Chan along the way. He was the one who recognized me first. I congratulated him and we talked for a while about his plans. Some friends told me that he has “connections” with “has-been” Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña. But I have found him to be sincere in his official functions since he assumed office.
If Radaza has any “delicadeza,” this controversy would not have cropped up in the first place. City Hall is the seat of the power of the City Government and the city mayor is the building administrator. Meaning, the chief executive is the one calling the shots in the operations inside City Hall. Ahong had sought the opinion of the DILG before he initiated drastic actions against Radaza, who insisted on holding office inside City Hall. And no less than DILG Secretary Eduardo Año supported Chan’s stand. That should have been respected.
But unfortunately, Radaza just ignored the DILG opinion, saying an “opinion is not a law.” What law does she want? Is she banking on an ordinance that her minions at the City Council hastily passed to accommodate her? Oh come on, Ma’am Paz, please show your decency, dignity, righteousness, etiquette and propriety or the so-called delicadeza. You can hold office anywhere and your constituents will just follow you. Anyway, you have your congressional office budget.