Dongkoy’s ‘greatest hits’

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”— George Santayana, The Life of Reason (1905)

EVER since 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez announced that he will be joining the fray for city mayor next year, social media have been abuzz on how this declaration would virtually ensure erstwhile kingpin Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano’s return to city hall.

While this theory may hold water, I believe it may not hold enough. I do not believe that Kagay-anons suffer from memory loss. I offer Kagay-anons one word to jog their memory: “Sendong.” But that’s getting ahead of what I want to say.

As a public service, let me count the ways, so to speak, the many incidents Kagay-anons had to endure under his absolute regime in the city, from his maudlin excuses to the macabre decisions. However, we’ll have to limit our list to hizzoner’s “greatest hits,” lest we run out of column space.

He does not have a sense, let alone respect, to local history and culture. In 1999, Dongkoy bulldozed Huluga to build a P635-million road and bridge on it. My igso Elson Elizaga wrote in his blog: “The project was stopped in 2001 when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources… issued a cease-and-desist order. But, unknown then to HCA (Heritage Conservation Advocates), it was lifted and the project continued in 2002, even though the project had no Archaeological Impact Assessment and was, and remains, illegal.”

He turned the monument of Andres Bonifacio in Divisoria into a flea market with his “Night Cafe.” This is a blatant insult to the Kagay-anon Katipuneros whose bones are buried at the base of Supremo’s monument.

There’s his dismal performance or the lack of it, as the city’s vice mayor. He could very well be the worst vice mayor in the Philippines having presided over the city council only twice in his three-year term. I’ll let you sink that in for a minute. His default excuse for his absences was that hizzoner was “attending more important matters.” When you’re the vice mayor, what could possibly be more important than presiding over the city council?

After his calculated stint as vice mayor—in order to get around the term limit rule—Dongkoy returned with a vengeance as city mayor from 2010 to 2013 by allowing ambulant vendors to be pretty much wherever they want.

He has been known to be a vindictive leader, often booting out employees who he deems not totally loyal to him. He usually brushes aside criticisms, no matter how legitimate they are, as “politically motivated” and no Kagay-anon will forget his signature “Pag mayor sa ‘mo” retort to almost any issue thrown at him.

By announcing that a bombing that kills less than five persons is not an act of terrorism, Emano cemented his insensitive nature to the general public.

Now we come to the piéce de résistance: The Sendong tragedy of 2011. Despite a geohazard map identifying riverine communities and river deltas as “highly prone” to flooding, for the sake of getting votes—to ensure his Marcosian rule over the city—Emano encouraged people to continue living there with his onerous “piso-piso settlement program.”

His stamp-pad city council even passed a resolution allocating funds for the electrification of the riverine communities and river deltas plus water service connection.

One of the reasons that exacerbated the Sendong tragedy was the mining operations in our city’s hinterland barangays. Let’s not forget that he was the one who issued the permit of Cekas Mining Corp. that recently destroyed some five hectares in one of our upland barangays. He even bypassed DENR’s Mining and Geosciences Bureau.

And the height of his insensitivity—he ordered the transfer of decomposing corpses of Sendong flash flood victims to the city’s dumpster in Zayas, Carmen because, according to him, city hall had no place to put the bodies on.

If you are still convinced hizzoner can stage a successful comeback, there’s the midterm elections in 2013 where Emano lost even in his own polling precinct in Gusa.

Remember that we have only limited our recollection of Dongkoy’s 15-year regime to his “greatest hits.” If you still think that Rodriguez joining the mayoral race will be Emano’s ticket to take back city hall, then perhaps you are the only one suffering from memory loss.

With that, maybe you do deserve each other.

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Hapsay 2.0

METHINKS it is high time for a serious reboot to the “Hapsay Dalan” which has used our D.V. Soria area as its traffic laboratory of sorts for some time already.

While it was commendable––stress on the past tense. Elsewhere around the city are pure traffic chaos. Drivers in the city, and I’m not talking only about the public vehicles flying, err plying across the city, lack even the most basic of road courtesies.

I’ve always thought that of all the “rules” made by man, traffic rules are the most logic and practical of all. It is there to prevent accidents, gridlocks, and yes, deaths.

I don’t drive my own car to the office. From time to time, though, I ride with my Editor-in-Chief’s Vitara and every ride with him always brings out the dark side in me.

Sometimes, I just suggest to him to put on some “fag music” to calm his nerves. If you come to think of it, traffic rules are not really that hard to follow. But when you (the driver) believe that you are entitled to some road courtesy and cannot give in, that becomes a big problem on the road.

When in a crossroad or junction don’t push on through if you see that the other side is still full with vehicles. Otherwise, you will “lock” the grid. It will not only inconvenience you but every one in that junction. Can’t you park your million-peso SUV on your garage for chrissakes?

I understand that for the longest time D.V. Soria has been the hub of the city but the Hapsay task force should realize that other streets and junctions in the city also need the discipline that has been successfully implemented at D.V. Soria. I suggest a drivers’ education campaign and make it a mandatory prerequisite in renewing their licenses.

Unless the task force reboots the Hapsay Dalan campaign to include the other streets and junctions in the city, it will begin to be a big disappointment because its implementation is only contained in the one place that most drivers and commuters would happily shy away from if they could help it.

Dear Mr. Chairman

I will just go right at it, Mr. Chairman.

Even though I am just an adopted son of Barangay Consolacion, I have grown fond of our community, having lived here for some 20 odd years now.

Do you still remember how our community--despite being one of the worst-hit barangays at the wake of super typhoon Sendong in 2011--managed to collectively rise from the devastation? Do you still remember how our barangay chair then, the late Cesar Pagapulaan Sr, and despite his advanced aged managed to rally the barangay bureaucracy to respond to the needs of its people?

Having been survivors ourselves, overcoming that calamity as one community is definitely one of my proudest moments.

I was so proud of what we achieved as a community that time.

When news reached me that you have become our barangay chairman it made my homecoming feel more exciting than it already was for me. I so looked forward to journal your exploits as you push Consolacion to even greater heights. A local government unit that strives to be an example of genuine accountability and transparency in public service.

Even my kids who were not of voting age yet were hopeful when you won.

However, I must tell it to you straight, I am mad. I am mad because since I came back, our neighborhood appears to be spiraling out of control. Consolacion, I fear, is fast reverting back to its infamous "Hulaw-hulaw" years--a neighborhood full of chaos, vice, crime, and indifference.

Yes, I'm mad, but more so disappointed. I'm disappointed at how you have been ignoring your people.

The barangay chair, after all, is the most powerful of all elected officials in the Republic--surpassing even the powers of the President.

Barangay chairpersons are the only elected officials in the Republic who gets to be the head of all the three equal and independent branches of government--the executive, judiciary, and legislative. But then again, I guess you know this already.

Pardon a little digression, I refer to "chairpersons" as such because these elected officials are neither skippers of a boat nor a commissioned officer in the armed services.

You get to execute, implement, and enforce resolutions and ordinances the barangay council enacts, which you are also duty-bound to preside. As the chief arbiter of our Lupon Tagapamayapa, you dispense justice and order in our community.

You are Consolacion's judge and jury, its lawmaker and law enforcer.

Last month, I came home to a green dump truck abandoned right in front of my ex-girlfriend's doorway. It was exactly where it was two years ago when I last saw it.

We could not see incoming traffic when we come out of our doorway because the dump truck was blocking the view. In fact, not a few trisikads nearly sideswiped my Lenin whenever she crosses the street.

My ex-girlfriend told me that she already met with you on several occasions to discuss our problem with the abandoned dump truck. But you have yet to respond.

We had to enlist the direct intervention of City Hall's Roads and Traffic Administration to finally compel the dump truck owner to transfer his truck when the matter could have been easily handled at the barangay level.

Meanwhile, I have observed that more and more minors--some of them are as young as 10 years old--have continually violated the barangay's curfew ordinance. Worse, the parents and guardians of these minors do not seem to care that their children are still out in the streets in the late hours of the evening.

I find it difficult to sleep every night because of the noise these kids make.

Although it irritates me but I cannot fault them for acting the way they do since our barangay police hardly ever conduct patrols in our streets at night.

As if this continuing disregard to community discipline and order is not enough, a fortnight ago, an acquaintance in Isla Kupa allegedly fired his pistol late in one night. Apparently, he--who happened to be intoxicated--couldn't sleep because his neighbors were allegedly having a boisterous gambling session of hantak. The man, for reasons only known to him, told local media that he fired his pistol to pacify the gamblers who he thought were fighting over their bets.

Despite how scary that incident probably was for the rest of the residents in Isla Kupa, not to mention potentially lethal, there were no charges were filed.

Responding cops told reporters, the day after, that since no one was willing to step forward to file a formal complaint, the entire incident--from the alleged illegal gambling and public mischief to the alleged indiscriminate firing and alarm and scandal--will remain a mere "hearsay."

These incidents that show how ineffective your leadership has become only happened because you have given up on us--the people who chose you to be their chairman.

Remember that thing I told you earlier about the awesome powers a barangay chairman wields? That same awesome power emanates from us. We just entrusted it to you. It is not yours to delegate to someone we did not vote and we certainly did not force you to run.

As your friend and comrade, I am so disappointed at you. You have abandoned your people, so to speak, Mr. Chairman. You have abdicated your privilege to serve the people.

I trusted you. My family trusted you.

Your continuing wanting performance in our community affairs, or the lack of it, has left me no other choice but to lead the call for your immediate resignation.

For the sake of our community--which I know you also love--please step down, Mr. Chairman.

Yours truly,

For the people

Oops, they did it again

THERE has been much ado about the supposed man-eating sharks off the coast of Molugan, El Salvador City in Misamis Oriental.

I will not go into the details of this tale anymore since almost everybody, including veteran reporters, gobbled up the “scoop,” hook, line, and sinker.

To be sure, all news reports about the fantastic story on an unfortunately “slow news” day cite Joel Caballa, a Bantay Dagat volunteer from El Salvador.

Caballa, when the tale broke out based on what he supposedly witnessed at sea, conveniently failed to mention that he was also a volunteer reporter of a local FM radio station with an AM news format.

Curiously, this is not the first time that radio stations inadvertedly induced panic among Kagay-anons through irresponsible reporting.

Apparently, some radio stations will report anything without the benefit of validating or vetting the information from their “volunteer” reporters.

In 2011, days after “Sendong” ravaged this city, one radio station issued a tsunami alert that left gullible Kagay-anons scampering to higher grounds. You can’t blame their listeners to behave the way they did even though it is common knowledge that tsunamis occur after earthquakes.

The same radio station endangered fellow reporters and city troopers when their reporter broadcast live on air the position and strength of the police pursuing the alleged assassins who waylaid the convoy of Iligan Rep. Vicente “Varf” Belmonte, last year.

I understand that “citizen reporting” is a fad among broadcast stations across the country. However, big networks like ABS-CBN’s Bayan Patrollers have continuing seminars and trainings on the rudiments and ethics of reporting. Until a local radio station that has a roster of veteran broadcast journalists as bosses, starts teaching its volunteer reporters how to report responsibly, the dial on my portable radio will never touch the inverted “number of the beast” frequency.