HONCHO. Something’s gotta give insofar as the slew of graft and corruption cases filed against Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is concerned. Sometimes, there are "accidents" when cases such as those filed by Sarah Teresa Esguerra and Victor Eduardo do not get the attention they deserve. But there are flukes and there are flukes, and fortunately for both Esguerra and Eduardo, they had a lucky break of having been noticed by Malacañang officials who were then looking for ways to kick out Chief Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez from the anti-graft prosecution arm. Malacañang legal counsels stumbled into whistleblower Sarah Esguerra who had filed several complaints against Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and those involved in allegations of irregularities which, if compiled would make up a book.
As is already known, the irregularities Esguerra and Eduardo together filed against Leonardia, befuddled the ordinary person because once available, one can conclude how careless he and his people have been. Soon, one would know the real reason for the carelessness or to put it succinctly, imprudent carelessness of the mayor and his people because, what they have done, would, in fact, be cause for the filing of charges against them. But they were probably ensconced in the thought that they would not be, in the final analysis, brought before the bar of the anti-graft court because they had covered their tracks, so to speak, very well. But, no, the evident omission of irregularities is not very easy to negate nor parry, and so, many, including political partisans may insist I am wrong but which could be proven by the trend of events and more so in the coming days.NINE YEARS OF MISTAKES. Nothing in fact, can totally be foolproof even if the mayor has "expert" like Jose "Peping" Villanueva, Goldwyn Nifras, the Voltes Five and a phalanx of "rear guards" and shock absorbers. From the looks of the documents produced by Esguerra and Eduardo related to these alleged anomalies, those who are now on the dock, have been careless, thinking maybe that with the political connections and the political power made available to them, they can in the final analysis, escape unscathed. Esguerra and Eduardo combined estimates that the amount involved in the alleged anomalies at P1.2B in a period of nine years which is not very difficult to actualize considering that for the last few years, the Bacolod City government has had a budget of P1.2B which includes its Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). The truth is that, after Malacañang got wind of the complaints having been parried aside by Ombudsman for Luzon, Mark Jalandoni who had signed several dismissals of complaints filed by Esguerra, two of them flew to Bacolod City and conferred with Esguerra personally. These are flukes or unforeseen events which turned out to be the good fortune for the whistleblowers and which also positively included Eduardo. NEW SET OF OFFICIALS SOONER OR LATER. There could be a new set of officials once the mayor and those who are included in the charges will be suspended on account of the complaints filed against them by Esguerra and Eduardo which is a distinct possibility. For no fault of theirs, El Cid Familiaran, will become the chief executive with the opposition councilors also occupying topranking positions. This may be a conjecture but if we may say so, this appears to be what is taking place and the direction, the political scenario shifting in Bacolod City.* Edgar Cadagat Negros Daily Bulletin
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