Horror stories

Nora Soriño .

ILIGAN City — A nine-year-old kid said to the other kids, also about her age: “I’ll tell you a horror story… there is no WiFi!”

The other kids exclaimed in horror: “Whaat?!”

They were really horrified.

Now, the grownups in this city have been hearing lately, some horror stories, too. Like as to garbage, two horror stories now exist:

1. “no seggregation, no collection”;

2. there are now six kinds of garbage segregations, not three.

An employee in the Public Services Division, June Lino Bacus, says garbage should be segregated in three kinds, biodegradable, non-biodegradable and those that can still be recycled.

According to another in the area, one Engr. R. Barsomo, there should be six.

Six! Others hear it as 16. Sixteen!

Residents here are truly horrified. Even as some barangay chairpersons are already, well, “sampled.” Eleven of them are sued by one Pio Bacong, a die-hard mayor Celso Regencia supporter.

And this week, another horror story developed. Then city administrator, lawyer Leo Zaragoza, resigned. Pronto. As in irrevocable resignation.

He said he had acted as a conductor to produce good sonata. But there are those that do not want “synchrony” to produce good music or sonata.

He then hinted at corruption at city hall by some personnel in the inner circle. Like a lease of an equipment for P100,000 to be made as P600,000. He said, “Some really want to get rich quick,” or something to that effect.

“We cannot take ‘that’ when we leave,” Atty. Z said in so many words. When we leave this life, I suppose.

So… I think if this does not qualify as another horror story, then, maybe it’s almost a horror story, don’t you think so? But he says he still supports the good mayor and will act as a watchdog together with the others, as a private citizen.

Now what are we going to do with these horrors now engulfing some city residents?

Matters like these don’t really have definite answers nor do horrified folks have action plans or definite solutions on what to do on this matter. And we can emulate Atty. Z: be a watchdog. But becoming watchdogs mean you’ll have to deal with more horror stories. It’s also risky business for the people on it, who are mostly dogs, I mean, people with goodness in their hearts.

Maybe, we’ll just have to remember a news anchor’s statement: “Standby for further development…”