Now that the Sandiganbayan has ordered the 90-day suspension of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza for her alleged involvement in the diversion of P15-million pork barrel funds of former congresswoman Clavel Asas Martinez, the question is: when will this suspension be enforced?
Many are asking this for lack of trust in our justice system.
Take the case of Rep. Bebot Abellanosa who was ordered dismissed last year for grave misconduct. He was found guilty of conflict of interest for his involvement in the Cebu City government’s scholarship program which benefited two schools he owns while still a city councilor.
But to this day, Abellanosa is still in office due to the snail-pace due process which presumes his innocence until proven guilty.
Going back to Radaza. It is believed that the suspension order will not take effect soon because she is afforded with all legal remedies, like filing motions for reconsideration. She can also go to the Court of Appeals.
But Radaza is also facing charges filed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and PDIC for allowing fake loans amounting to over P2 billion while she was president of the Subangdaku Rural Bank.
The accusations leveled against her are serious and should not be taken lightly because they raise questions about her integrity.
Though the cases have nothing to do with her capacity as mayor, but just the same: she is an elected public official and the cases have tainted her integrity and honesty as a person.
Now this brings me to the point: the Liberal Party (LP) lacks propriety for deciding to dump original party member Efrain “Jun” Pelaez.
LP gave the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) to Radaza, who is now facing serious charges in court.
In a way, Mr. Pelaez is vindicated and this is a slap on the face of LP.
In the first district I spoke to one Liberal Party mayoral candidate who lamented how LP leaders have unfairly treated some loyal members.
He said he and his lineup got their CONAs at 4 p.m. on the last day of filing of certificates of candidacy because Capitol didn’t advise them on the matter.
The worst part is that LP provincial chairman Gov. Hilario Davide III also raises the hands of their political opponents from the Alayon party of former congressman Eduardo Gullas despite the fact that they were the ones issued with CONA.
In another case, LP dumped Board Member Yayoy Alcoseba and issued a CONA to Alayon party member Mayor Nice Apura of Carcar City.
Now I do not know if the LP leadership is very much confused, or is it adopting a policy of winning at all cost?
Governor Davide seems to be adopting a policy of abandoning his original, hard-working party mates and replacing them with candidates who were never a member of LP as long as they have better chances of winning.
I am disappointed that the good governor is adopting a tactic practiced by many traditional politicians. I was hoping that Davide would have been a better politician, but he just succumbed to the ugly system of traditional politics.
Now I am afraid that because of what he did, Davide would be abandoned by his mayors. Vice Governor Magpale justified his actions, saying that he sacrificed himself to secure the victory of Mar Roxas. But it doesn’t matter: his actions show a lack of propriety.
It is still not too late for original LP members who felt “slighted” by Davide’s moves. I suggest they organize as a group, speak as one and assert their rights by asking Davide to stop endorsing on stage their political rivals.
And if they are not heard, they should inform the party leadership that they could no longer support candidates who are supporting their political opponents.
I am hoping that the Liberal Party would be able to fix this problem if it really wants to secure this election’s victory, because honestly, what it is doing here in Cebu is not helping its cause. Many people are frowning on what party leaders are doing to many of their original and loyal party members.