WITH barely two weeks before the elections, incumbent Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and his challenger former councilor Caesar Distrito hurled accusations against each other over the weekend.
Familiaran described his photoshopped image, wearing white t-shirt with printed word of his opponent Team Asenso, being circulated on social media last week as "desperate moves and dirty tactics."
The post on social media quoted Familiaran: "The battle cry of Bacolodnon is change. I am giving up to show my support to Team Asenso."
He thanked their rival camp, Team Asenso, for giving him a hundred and one reasons to laugh the whole afternoon at their cheap propaganda ploy on social media saying that he have withdrawn from the vice mayoralty race in support of Distrito.
Familiaran noted that they expect more black propaganda against their group until election day on May 9.
He reiterated the battle cry of his supporters, "Indi Kami Mag Bulag. Indi Kami Mag Bulag. Kay Vice Mayor El Cid Lang Kami (We will not leave, we will not leave, we will stick with El Cid)."
But this did not set well to Distrito, who claimed that this statement is a clear violation of the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability for vilification and public ridicule.
"Since day one, I have been a victim of fake news and black propaganda, including my family (and) I have been relentlessly maligned, ridiculed by troll and real accounts in social media," he said.
He added that even the paid barkers in the radio from morning, afternoon until evening also maligned him.
Distrito claimed that even the vice mayor's wife and son posted libelous and below the belt posts pertaining to him, the reason why he had filed and will be filing cyber libel and other cases.
The former councilor lamented that trolls are unstoppable in their bullying and shaming warfare against him, but he is not entertaining them.*