Tuburan mayor dismisses accusation as mudslinging

TUBURAN Mayor Democrito “Aljun” Diamante yesterday said the news item last March 1 accusing him of abuse of authority is unfounded and intended to jeopardize his candidacy in the May elections.

Diamante said the same issues raised by Tuburan Municipal Councilor Marie Tabotabo appeared last month in the local newspapers.

But all the issues have been answered by four Tuburan municipal councilors, who are colleagues of Tabotabo, in a press conference last Feb. 24.

Tabotabo complained with the Office of the Ombudsman that Diamante spent P250,000 government funds on food during a medical mission conducted by the Bisaya Medical Association USA last Feb. 4 to Feb. 8.

Diamante said that because Tabotabo is not residing in Tuburan and is an absentee in the Municipal Council due to her fulltime job at the University of San Carlos, she should do better research to avoid spreading lies to the public.

Patients “I spent almost P300,000 from my own money for the medical mission conducted by the Bisaya Medical Association USA that benefited about 5,100 patients. We feed 41 doctors and 39 nurses and volunteers and we paid for their accommodation using my own money. What’s wrong with that?” Diamante said.

Diamante said that in the March 1 news items in the local newspapers, Tabotabo was reported to have said the mayor has vested interest in running the Municipal Government.

“I have definitely no vested interest as what Marie Tabotabo falsely accused me of. How come Tabotabo made all these lies in public when her words can easily be refuted with the official records that are regularly audited by the Commission on Audit?” Diamante said.

Diamante said he and his brother, Municipal Councilor Danny Diamante, donated to the barangays their entire salary since they assumed office in July 2010.

The barangay officials and their constituents use their salaries for the renovation of chapels, purchase of schools chairs and tables and church equipment, among others.

He said that while the past Tuburan mayors used government vehicles, government fuel and government driver, he is not using all of them because he has his own car, he spent his own money for fuel, and he paid the salary of his own driver.