BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia vehemently denied allegations that he plans to cheat during election.
He even dared Representative Anthony Rolando Golez Jr. Monday to produce Nicolas Enriquez because they want to know if he really exists or not.
"Ginahangkat ko si Golez nga ipakita nya ini / iproduser si Nicoles Enriques, para kabalo kami kung tawo ni o tamawo."
Leonardia said this is something that has never happened in Bacolod politics before.
It is a masterpiece by a master spin doctor, he added.
Leonardia noticed that the letter of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima directing National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas to investigate the allegations of Golez dated April 10.
However, Rojas' letter directing the NBI Counter Terrorism Division director to investigate the alleged illegal activities was dated April 8, which shows that it was issued even before De Lima had directed the NBI chief to conduct an investigation.
"To imply that I will use goons to insure my election victory is surely an act of desperation. I have been in Bacolod politics for 19 years and the people of Bacolod know me well. My name has never been identified with terrorism or illegal gambling that is why I have been winning elections because people here know me and trust me," Leonardia said.
Leonardia said these wild and totally baseless allegations can only come from someone who does not know the culture of Bacolod.
If Golez was bred and cultured in Bacolod, he could not have cooked up something like this. It clearly shows that his mentality and orientation are of another kind and out of the world of Bacolod, he said.
Leonardia said this is a pattern of the "ambush me" scheme and cheap political gimmickry. Indeed, thinkers are doers! Only people who can do this can think of something like this, he said.
What is possible is that the accuser is the mastermind who will blame his opponents for what he intends to do, he added.
"I have survived more difficult political battles in the past without resorting to dirty tactics. What I am facing now is definitely not my most difficult election battle," Leonardia said.
And let the public be warned that, as elections come nearer, more of this evil propaganda machinations will surface, he added.