CAGAYAN de Oro City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a said Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente “Bambi” Emano's statement that he would protect the Capitol from the clearing operations is an outright defiance of President Rodrigo Duterte's order.
“If he refuses to clear the Capitol premises from obstruction, Emano should answer to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG),” Sabuga-a said.
Sabuga-a maintained that since the Capitol is within the premises of the city, it should also follow city rules and regulations.
“Ang clearing of roads nagsugod na kini sa 2013 hangtod karon pinaagi sa Hapsay Sapa, Hapsay Dalan, busa lutaw niini ang two-way na karon ang Cogon Area sa J.R. Borja Street. Dugay panahon gi-allow sa Emano administration ang nga illegal structure sa syudad bisan sa mga creeks ug kadalanan tungod sa ilang ‘no vote ibot’ nga policy giparehistro aron gamiton sa politika,” he said.
(The clearing of roads started in 2013 until now through Hapsay Sapa and Hapsay Dalan. Motorists can now appreciate the Cogon Area on J.R. Borja Street as a two-way road. The Emano administration has allowed illegal structures in the city for their ‘no vote ibot’ policy as a political tactic.)
Sabuga-a also lambasted Emano for talking about corruption, saying he should “speak for himself.” He said the delay of the midyear bonus release for the Capitol employees is corruption.
Last week, Emano said he would not allow the City Government to conduct clearing operations within the Capitol premises even as he directed the Provincial Legal Office to study legal options should the city proceeds to do it.
This, after City Hall's composite team spokesperson Antonio Resma called on the Capitol to clear their property themselves.
But Emano said while he supports President Rodrigo Duterte's directive, he pointed out that the Capitol is not part of the city and should therefore not intervene with how he runs it.
"Nalimut man tingale sila nga ang Kapitolyo dili iya sa syudad ug walay labut sa bisan unsang opisyal nga kalihukan ang mga kadagkuan niini ug dili mahimo nga mag apil-apil sila sa pagdumala sa kagamhanan sa lalawigan," Emano said.
(He seemed to forget that the Capitol is not part of the city government. City officials should not interfere with how the Capitol functions.)
Emano tells the city officials to focus instead in solving problems of the city such as traffic.
“Mas daghan ang mga katawhan nga ilang gipa-antos labaw kay kon itandi naku, nag-antos sa problema sa trapik tungod sa ka inutil sa mga opisyales sa syudad ug kakulang sa inisyatiba diin karon pa milihok tungod sa mando sa Presidente pinaagi sa DILG nga mahimo man unta nila kini sugod sa unang adlaw sa ilang pagkapili,” the governor added.
If the city will proceed with the clearing without coordinating, Emano said they will file a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman.
Sabuga-a, for his part, said they will leave this matter to the DILG and will instead focus on clearing other priority areas.