Oca's vindication

“I AM vindicated.”

Quoted Sun-Star Pampanga’s very headline recently of defeated 3^rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales over the dismissal by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal of the electoral protest he lodged against his nemesis, Rep. Oscar S. Rodriguez.

Which led to readers wondering over the state of emotional, if not mental, health of Gonzales. As the astute journalist Ashley Manabat wrote in his Punto story: “How can Gonzales feel vindicated when his electoral protest was dismissed by the HRET for lack of merit. It should be Rodriguez who should feel vindicated and not the other way around.”
Which led Rodriguez to demand his space in the paper, arguing that the story was far from objective, even farther from accurate, and furthest from the truth. As he told the assembly of journalists belonging to the Capampangan in Media Inc. two Fridays back.

Rodriguez assailed the story for presenting as dispositive fact the arguments of Gonzales that were thoroughly negated by the dismissal. 

Read the Sun-Star Pampanga story:

The HRET, in its decision, said that Gonzales “prayed to disqualify protestee (Rodriguez) from holding office as Representative of the Third District of Pampanga, and annul and set aside his proclamation as elected representative of the district, among others. There is, however, no prayer to proclaim protestant as the duly elected Representative thereof…
In its ruling, the Tribunal noted that “after a candidate has been proclaimed elected, his disqualification on grounds of vote buying, terrorism, overspending, and other election irregularities can only be sought in an election protest, this time for the purpose of annulling his election. The Tribunal spoke of annulment of election and not disqualification of elected candidate.”

So was Rodriguez disqualified? So was his proclamation annulled? So where’s Gonzales’ vindication there?

“The decision said that my political rival does not deserve to occupy his position because he has betrayed public trust,” said Gonzales, pointing to Paragraph 36 of the HRET Case No. 13-011 resolution, stating that “All told, Protestee failed to prove that the disbursements were made under the exceptions set forth under the law. Therefore, the issuance of checks and release of financial assistance fall within the ambit of vote buying as described in Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code. Accordingly, Protestee should be held liable for his wrongdoings.”

Still, Rodriguez remains in the House, seated on the high chair of the committee on good governance and public accountability that, only two days ago, started an investigation into reports that P30 billion in infrastructure funds went missing during the last months of the Arroyo administration.

Of much interest to our regional readers is the record of disbursement for Central Luzon in the documents Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson submitted to Rodriguez’s committee, to wit:

The whole province of Aurora with P25 million.

Bulacan’s 1^st District with P10 million; 2^nd District with P13 million; and 3^rd District with P8 million.

Nueva Ecija’s 1^st District with P32 million; 4^th District with P20 million.

Tarlac’s 3^rd District with P20 million.

Zambales’ 2^nd District with P25 million.

And, last but certainly not least, Pampanga: 1^st District with 35 million; 2^nd District with P35 million; and 3^rd District with P502.5 million.

A whopper there: Gonzales, the 3^rd district congressman at that time, getting much, much, much, more than presidential son Mikey Arroyo representing the 2^nd district.

The incredulous Rodriguez stressing the 3^rd district “received a total of P502.5 million in just one month – February (2013) – less than three months before the elections.”

Furthered he: “According to the DPWH project monitoring report, there was zero accomplishment in my district. I am not saying that they funded ghost projects, only that there was no accomplishment. We are asking Secretary Singson to verify these projects.”

No need for Rodriguez to see ghosts there. He has seen so much before and talked about it.

When Gonzales first went on print – in Sun-Star Pampanga, where else – after filing his electoral protest, he declared: “The indiscriminate issuance of… checks and the distribution of ‘financial assistance’ to numerous recipients, beneficiaries and/or scholars just a few days before the elections obviously constitute massive vote buying.”

Gonzales charged Rodriguez of having violated Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits any public official or employee, including barangay officials, from releasing, disbursing or using public funds during 45 days before a regular election, and Comelec Resolution 9585, which implements Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code that prohibits the release, disbursement and expenditure of public funds effective March 29, 2013 until May 13, 2013.

Of course, Rodriguez paid back Gonzales in kind: "It is all too ironic that he is protesting what he himself precisely did during the campaign and days before the election. I think he is very guilty of that, driving him to desperation.”

And boomed: "It is very sad to note that he corrupted education. Saan ka makakakita na pati kindergarten binigyan ng P800 tapos scholar na. Iyung iba naman, P10,000 per family… Indeed, his protest is very, very ironic.”

Ironic, indeed. With some sense of poetic justice.

With the latest report of the 3^rd district – under Gonzales – getting P502.5 million three months before the May 2013 elections, what had been readily dismissed then as perfunctory counterclaims of Rodriguez are starting to emerge under the very lights of the gospel.

This is pure vindication. For Rodriguez.