Powers that be
We were awakened at around 3:45 in the early morning of Tuesday when we felt our house move and heard the creaking sound of the windows. It turned out to be a a 3.6 magnitude earthquake. Believe it or not, some of our friends did not notice the tremor. They slept soundly.
The earth quake’s epicenter was in Asturias, Cebu, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). The 10 tremors that hit Cebu were tectonic in origin, it said. The earthquake, which was followed by several aftershocks, was felt in the cities of Mandaue, Cebu and Talisay.
Yesterday morning, I noticed hairline cracks on the concrete column in the gate of our house.
The frequent earthquakes that hit the different parts of the country (the last big one struck Surigao City) somehow validate the claim of environmentalists on climate change.
But I don’t suppose those who are against mining would point the blame to the mining industry as the apparent cause of the earthquakes.
Having been in politics for quite some time, Cebu City Councilor Gerry Guardo should have not been that naïve on why he was ordered suspended for three months by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for alleged neglect of duty while he was the barangay captain of Sambag 1.
Councilor Guardo knows that he doesn’t belong to the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), the party of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña. He should have seen it coming after Mayor Tomas hobnobbed with President Duterte during his visit here for the groundbreaking for the third Cebu-Mactan bridge.
Guardo was found guilty by the anti-graft office of simple neglect for his alleged failure to submit the yearend financial statement to the Commission on Audit (COA). Because of this alleged neglect, the Ombudsman ordered him to pay a fine equivalent to his three-month salary as barangay captain.
That Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero ordered his suspension for three months as city councilor when he committed the alleged misdeeds while he was the barangay captain of Sambag 1 is not something new even during the previous administration.
Of course, Councilor Guardo is not left without any other recourse. He can always question the validity and integrity of the DILG’s suspension order before the office of the DILG secretary or the courts.
Suspension orders issued by government agencies to local elected officials or government employees even on unclear or unsubstantiated accusations are simply madness. Some say this is all about politics and those who have the right connections with the mighty can pull the right strings.
The case of Councilor Guardo is not new or unusual. With our brand of politics, the consequences of the wrongful acts of government officials (elected or appointed) are immediately felt by those who are not well-connected to the powers that be.
It is for this reason that every time there is change in the administration, most, if not all, politicians would immediately jump to the party in power. We call them “balimbings,” a sour fruit with several edges whose sourness is gone after a few bites.
Councilor Guardo can always question the validity and integrity of the DILG’s suspension order before the office of the DILG secretary or the courts