Dinan disses Dong

THE electoral wars are still over six months hence but first blood has already been drawn in the third district Sunday night when comebacking kid Dinan Labung launched a salvo of Scud missiles on perceived congressional frontrunner Dong Gonzales.
The 2004 also-ran to eventual winner Cong Rey Aquino minced no words in demeaning Dong’s multifarious infra projects as nothing short of frying the people in their own lard with the board member skimming off the fat.
In so many words, Dinan disabused the mindset on Dong’s outstanding performance thus: The funds for the projects are the people’s, coursed through the pork barrel of some senators past and present – Loren Legarda, Robert Jaworski and Juan Flavier notably – who favored Dong to facilitate their implementation. Dong, as contractor, profits in millions; Dong, as politician, gains in popularity mileage. What with his name displayed on all those billboards, even more prominently than the project sponsors.
“Menakitan ne, sinikat ya pa,” Dinan deigned. No need stressing here that Dinan is also a big-time contractor. So he knows whereof he speaks?
Dinan damns Dong as disloyal, if not a virtual traitor, to the Kapampangan with the latter’s steadfast position on the provincial board resolution adopting his patron, Loren the Protestant, as daughter of the province.
In fairness though, there are a number who deemed Dong’s was the principled stand to the obsequiousness of an utterly spineless Sangguniang Panlalawigan that, as we all know, withdrew the resolution pronto when the Little One raised a penciled eyebrow.
Total, unconditional support to the President in Congress makes Dinan’s casus belli in his run against Dong. Dinan makes you think that is the sole reason for his running.
“We cannot afford to have one congressman from Pampanga joining the impeachment move against the President,” declared Dinan already prejudging Dong as an oppositionist. And himself as the champion of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“It was Malacañang that asked me to make myself available for this task after the incumbent Rey Aquino decided to run for mayor of San Fernando,” Dinan disclosed. He did not need to overemphasize his closeness with the First Family to further convince his Sunday night audience of mediamen and supporters long convinced of his epoxied bonds with Mickey Macapagal Arroyo. Didn’t he – Dinan – fellow Board Member Cris Garbo and then Vice Governor Mickey form the Sanggunian’s once most colorful, if not formidable troika that was the Tatlong Itlog? Didn’t he – Dinan – star alongside Mickey in a number of his clueless action movies?
There’s a message there. And Dinan pounced on it: “I shall be the administration candidate and the presidency is not at stake in the 2007 elections.” Read: Malacañang, with all the resources of government at its disposal, will be at full throttle to make its candidates win; the President’s party at maximum drive to steamroll the Opposition to submission.
Already – Dinan claims – Didi Domingo, a Lakas stalwart, has committed her local machinery to him. And to the Lapids, the President’s wish is their command.
Dinan Labung ing Tersera Distritu. Literally, let the third district bloom.
Be afraid Dong. Be very afraid.

Moving on

“LET us move on.”
So the Honorable Johnny ‘JQ’ Quiambao was quoted as saying after the brouhaha over one Jun Castro reportedly intervening in the case of a Mabalacat barangay chair lodged with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan member’s justice committee.
“His (Castro’s) apology has been accepted. All’s well that ends well,” the news report continued, quoting JQ. I admire – truly – JQ’s fidelity to Christian teachings: Forgive your erring brother seventy times seven, so the Good Book says.
But it does not “end well” there. It does not even end there. What about this Castro? What about the whole Sangguniang Panlalawigan?
That he did not deny the “intervention” and even apologized to JQ confirmed that something wrong was indeed committed. Imagine a mere factotum of the governor – whom he even reportedly disowned subsequently – questioning in effect the authority of a duly elected official! What gall! What arrogance! What insolence! That is an in-your-face dirty finger at the whole Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Not only on JQ.
That is at the least an encroachment of the executive into the realm of the legislative, an utter disrespect of the co-equality of the branches of the provincial government.
At the very least then, sanctions should have been imposed on this Castro. To put him in his rightful cubbyhole. Rat hole would be more apt, said someone who looked like Provincial Engineer Jay Macatuno.
L’affaire Castro reminded me of the proverbial fly who, perched at the back of a carabao, thought he was the bigger and more powerful animal.
Which in turn reminds me of a similar incident at the time of the senior Lapid when Vice Governor Mikey Macapagal Arroyo verbally Baygoned the provincial attorney, the now departed Benjie Galang, as a “langaw.”
A case of lightning striking the Lapid Capitol twice?
Come to think of it, what is it with the Lapids that draw these “langaws” around them? So what attracts flies, dummy? Food, yes. And filth too. Draw your own conclusions.
Back to this Castro. Is he the same character who figured in a gun-drawing incident in Dau, Mabalacat sometime in 2004 to get a Lapid sibling out of a mess of his own making? Baka naman gusto lang umekstra nito sa pelikulang koboy ni Leon Guerrero?
Is this Castro the same character who reportedly blew his top when an NLEx toll barrier failed to open for his car, then insisted in talking to MNTC President Ping de Jesus himself to register his angry complaint?
Is this Castro the same character whose name appears in just about every posted notice of some government project underway in Mabalacat? Who is he, what is his official position to merit a billing that is at times even bigger than Mayor Boking’s?
There is an emerging tyrant here. And he is not even a public official – elected or appointed. Swat this fly fast before it spreads diseases.
So, let us move on eh, JQ?
The trouble with moving on is in forgetting where we came from. Hence, we move in circles and end up trapped in a deep rut of a vicious cycle.

Terribly, Tumang

DEATH and destruction have emerged as the hallmark of the administration of Teddy Tumang in Mexico, Pampanga.
Three barangay chairs and two kagawads lead the documented list of 44 fatalities in an orgy of killings since Tumang took over the town hall in 2004. And excluded from that death list yet are the 13 casualties in the Independence Day 2005 encounter between Army troopers and the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan.
With local leaders reduced to sitting ducks in an open season, there – indeed – is a total breakdown of peace and order here: human life span approximating that of a flea’s. Reminds me of the essential baddie in the spaghetti westerns: “In Mexico, señor, we kill for nothing.”
By troubling coincidence, death is the hallmark of the mayor’s family name: Funeraria Tumang being the established undertaker in the town. Death is good business, eh.
Any public servant worth the vote of his constituents would have moved heaven and earth, if not raised hell, to stem this tsunami of killings. But no, Tumang is not just any public servant.
So he moved earth – literally, the ground upon which the Mexico town hall was erected; and demolished the edifice. Perhaps this was Tumang’s act of offering to appease the god of death? And by so doing, he raised hell. Unto himself.
A number of the townfolk cried “sacrilege” over this destruction of a local heritage – the municipio being, in a sense, a monument to their democratic aspirations, to their identity as a people. Which they felt was earlier betrayed by Tumang and his Sanggunian gang when no public consultation on the issue was called.
So there is a Resolution No. 039(A)-2006 that granted Tumang the authority “to effect the proposed major renovation, expansion, and construction of the municipal hall building and improvement of its facilities and premises.”
It does appear now that Tumang and the Sangguniang Bayan of Mexico have a comprehension of certain terms that is not only different but even contrary to that of the rest of us – “major renovation and expansion” synonymous to “demolition.”
In accordance with my limited knowledge of governmental processes, it takes more than a Sanggunian resolution to cause the demolition of a town hall – even granting that the authority given Tumang was indeed to that effect.
The building had to be thoroughly investigated first by a competent body which would then make a recommendation on the basis of its findings. The Department of Public Works and Highways comes in, being the authority on public buildings. Being public property, the Commission on Audit has a major say too in the building’s proper disposition.
Renovation then has to go through the usual bidding process.
Some procedural lapses appear to be very evident here, Tumang seemingly fast tracking the whole thing..
Highly questionable too – as a matter of morals if not in point of law – is the use of anticipated income to fund the municipal building’s construction. SM was reported to have advanced between P10-million and P15-million in tax payments directly to the demolition-construction job. A COA employee was reported to have said that advanced tax payments had to be put in a trust fund “intended for allotment in next year’s (2007) projects.”
Question: Will the COA have the balls to investigate Tumang?
Yet another question that may interest the Ombudsman this time: Is Tumang using his office as Mexico mayor to engage in personal business?
Along with other mediamen, I got hold of certain records of transactions between Tumang and Central Country Estate Inc. (CCEI), the developer of Lakeshore.
Item 1. A memo on the Mayor’s stationery, dated August 13, 2004, addressed to Architect Nestor S. Mangio, President & CEO, The Lakeshore. Subject: Price Quotation for Filling Materials:
“Thru this missive, I state that our price for filling materials is Sixty-five (-P-65.00) Pesos per cubic meters (sic) dumped on site and on a 70-30 basis of payment.
“Thank you and please consider this.”
It was signed Teddy C. Tumang, Municipal Mayor.
Item 2. Purchase Order of CCEI, dated January 5, 2006 addressed to and received by Supplier “Hon. Teddy Tumang” for 1,500 T/L (truckloads?) of “earth fill materials.”
Item 3. Billing sheet for filling materials for the period Sept. 12 – Oct. 15, 2005 totaling to 6,519.17 cubic meters at 384 truckloads. Handwritten notations of “x95 = P619,321.15 less 30% swapping – P185,796.34 =P433,524.81.”
Item 4. Billing sheet for filling materials for the period Oct. 7-15, 2005 totaling to 4,816.50 cubic meters at 292 truckloads. Handwritten notations of “x95 = P457,561.50 less 30% swapping – 137,270.75 = P320,297.25.”
Item 4. Check Voucher dated Oct. 8, 2004 with Stone Head Enterprises as payee for 9,604.61 cubic meters priced at P624,299.65 less 30% swapping at P187,289 amounted to P437,009.75.
Item 5. Check Voucher dated Oct. 26,2004 with Stone Head Enterprises as payee for 3,111.34 cubic meters priced at P202,217.60 less 30% swapping at P60,665.28 amounted to P141,552.32.
Item 6. Check voucher dated Oct. 25, 2005 with Stone Head Enterprises as payee with no indicated volume of filling materials delivered priced at P619,321.15 less 30% swapping at P185,796.34 amounted to P433,524.61.
Item 7. Official Receipt No. 002 of Stone Head Enterprises dated October 12, 2004 made to “NS Mangio Const. & Devt. Corp.” for Metrobank Check No. 1890415299 in the amount of P437.009.75 for filling materials.
Item 8. A ledger – Project: Lakeshore, Subject: Lot Swapping, Supplier: Stone Head Enterprises. Grand Total: Amount of Billing – P10,036,918.30; Amount 30% Swapping – P4,729,291.47; Balance – P5,307,626.84.
In this ledger appeared under Lot Assignment at Eastlake: Block 9, Lot 8 with an area of 327 square meters costing P1.635 million; Block 9, Lot 9, at 402 square meters costing P2.17 million; and Block 4a, Lot 5, at 345 square meters costing P1.828 million.
Amount swapped is totaled at P5,634,300.00 and balance due is P905,008,54.
So this is a filling-material-for-Lakeshore-lot swap. Now in whose name are these lots registered? Did the local government of Mexico get anything out of these transactions? What is Tumang’s connection with Stonehead Enterprises?
People of Mexico, you are in a terrible fix.




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Political illogic

POLITICALLY motivated: the omnibus catch phrase that has become a convenient and uniform, albeit foolhardy, escape clause of elected officials haled to the Ombudsman or the courts on charges of graft and corruption.
Politically motivated, in thus mintage, makes a mockery of reason if not a negation of logic. For, it seeks to compensate with trivialized emotions what it sorely lacks in intellectual discourse; opting for high drama over cold reason.
So, rather than reasoned arguments to disprove the charges ranged against them, the accused resort to all means of (ir)rationalizations that comprise the body of Material Fallacies of Reasoning any student of my day learned in Philosophy 101. (With the reason and logic so uncommon nowadays, I wonder if they still teach this course.) It goes thus:
Item A: “I do not want to stoop to their level by dignifying with any comment the allegations against my person.”
Classic argumentum ad hominem -- a shift from the issues to the personality of the accuser, even to the point of ridicule.
Item B: “Will you believe this communist raising all these allegations against me, a democratically elected official?
The fallacy of emotive language is exampled here – communist meant to cast aspersion, to refer to the accuser with contempt. Not only before the recently resigned Major General Jovito Palparan but also the general public.
Item C: “After all my sacrifices – foregoing with my highly lucrative profession, neglecting my family just so I can be an exemplary public servant – this (graft case) is the gratitude I get!”
An appeal to pity, to gain public sympathy, deftly skirting the main issues – this is argumentum ad misericordiam.
At the political hustings, Mabalacat’s John Santos mastered this fallacy thus: “Sinawa na ku pung masasambut. Malunus na ko pu kanaku. Patakmanan yu na ku mang panyambut.” (I am fed up with losing. Have pity on me. Please, give me a taste of victory.) The three consecutive terms at the provincial board of the man popularly referred to as “Richard Gomez” makes a very strong argument, if not a solid testament, to the electoral efficacy of this fallacy.
Item D: “I would have not have been elected to the House if I was corrupt as mayor.”
This is argumentum ad verecundiam – the appeal to respect, or prestige being equated with evidence.
The implication in the item cited -- that a corrupt official cannot get elected to Congress – falls under another fallacy: contrary to fact conditional error. It alters reality and then draws conclusion from this alteration. Congress incorruptible? Cow dung!
Item E: “They filed these cases against me because I will wrest the mayorship from them in the coming elections.”
The post hoc fallacy or finding consequence in sequence. It is made to appear that an announcement of an impending run in the next elections triggered the filing of the cases against the accused, a false cause really. In a local incident though, the cases were filed before the announcement was made. Still, the fallacy stands.
Item F: “They are accusing me of stealing the people’s money. How about the bank loan they secured?”
Offense as the greatest defense. The accused turned accuser – appending similar allegations of wrongdoing to his nemesis. This is the fallacy of tu quoque -- “you yourself do it.” As in pare-parehu tamu mu king akbak nang Hudas (we are all the same in Judas’ skewer.)
Item G: “This (graft case) is what I get for being the best mayor this city ever had.”
Two fallacies interplay here: irrelevance or ignoratio elenchi, and contradiction. At issue is the graft case, so arguments must focus on that. And being the “best mayor” is highly debatable. Where did that title come from?
The above are but a sampling of erroneous ways of reasoning that have assumed a semblance of validity, given the pervasive system of idiotization in the country today.
And what idiot can be worse than one in Congress who admitted to lapses in the observance of governmental rules and procedures, rationalizing them as necessary to ensure smooth government operations and service delivery!
To him the appellation solon is most misappropriated. A wise lawgiver in a law circumventor! More than dialectical contradiction, there is sheer illogic here.