Shortlived?

Ben Contreras

 FORMER mayor Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano, erstwhile Lord of City Hall, continues to dream of becoming our mayor again. Unlike 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez who conceded gracefully, Dongkoy still hopes that the Office of the Ombudsman would affirm its decision to dismiss incumbent Mayor Oscar Moreno due to the Ajinomoto case.

Moreno’s supporters were exultant over their victory in the last election but some quarters warned that it may be shortlived.

In the event Ombudsman affirms its decision, is it Dongkoy or Kikang Uy who should ascend? I heard it discussed and debated, and the views always depend on which side of the fence one belongs. Their biases still reign. So, I decided to ask one, a noted lawyer and constitutionalist who asked not to be quoted.

His opinion is that if the Ombudsman affirms its decision and Moreno gets dismissed, then Dongkoy becomes the mayor. The case has a retroactive effect. A decision like that would mean that Moreno was disqualified from the mayoral race even before the May elections, making Dongkoy the winner because he received the highest number of votes among the eligible mayoral candidates. He said that if Moreno gets dismissed in connection with a case other than the Ajinomoto case, then Kikang Uy, the vice mayor-elect, becomes the mayor.

I do not know Kikang personally. But being new in politics, he should be less tainted. Would he be a good mayor? That remains to be seen.

For sure, there are people working on this from different political camps. But that’s politics.

Kikang’s father has joined the PDP-Laban. Many LPs in the city and province are also heard to be joining the bandwagon. Would Moreno do the same? The bigger question is, would his joining save him from the threat of dismissal?

Assuming that Moreno survives the legal battle ahead, would he be able to continue to do what he has been doing, in the past and today? Would he dare go against the wishes of President-elect Duterte, one of which is ending corruption? That would be interesting. Wait and see.

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The intensified drive against drug pushers and users is seen by certain quarters more as cleansing than obedience to the wishes of the incoming President. The ease with which authorities find their targets is just too good to be true.

Our government agencies use “assets” (informers) to help them. But in some cases, they became involved and their assets became their messengers and collectors of protection money. Worst, some are suspected of becoming involved in the trade.

Sensing that the incoming President is dead serious about his hatred for drugs, those into it need to clean up their trails. Dead men tell no tales, so they say.

Whatever, it’s good to see them dead. The fewer zombies in the streets, the better for our society!

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One thing I saw in Manila in my recent visit was about government people cleaning up the sides of bridges of dirt and other waste materials. Here, I’ve been writing about it, and has yet to see results.

Let me go back to Divisoria. Surprisingly, the drainages are still covered with garbage. Are we to expect that rain water would just be allowed to flood the streets? Hohummm…