BERNIE ANG, the new city administrator of Manila, is apologizing to the public. Here’s why.
Early last month, he stated that it was the “talkativeness and recklessness” of Alex Lopez, erstwhile rival of now Mayor Honey Lacuna, that brought not only his very own defeat but also, collaterally, that of his brother Manny Lopez who was an incumbent first district Congressman and cousin Carlo, a former Congressman in the second district of Manila.
Even then, he on the other hand, expressed admiration for former Congressmen Manny and Carlo whom he said did not speak ill of anybody and for knowing how to accept defeat graciously. In fact, he even said that he considers them as good friends and true gentlemen, adding that he and Carlo are even both active in the Philippine Red Cross.
That was until recently, when Ang learned that Carlo hit him via a social media post. In it, Carlo quoted him as having said that he (Carlo) and Manny lost in the last elections “because of the expose of Alex Lopez of corruption in City Hall” and even went on to allege massive vote buying and election fraud.
“First of all, let me be clear. I never said that Carlo and Manny lost because of the ‘expose of Alex. I said it was because of the too much talkativeness of and reckless, baseless accusations made by Alex which were rejected by the voters, given the fact that all three Lopezes –Alex, Carlo and Manny— lost bigtime to Mayor Honey, Congressman Rolan Valeriano and first-time Congressional candidate Ernix Dionisio, respectively. I stand by what I said,” Ang said in a statement.
The feisty city administrator said that with the pronouncements made by Carlo directed against him, he (Ang) now has a clearer understanding as to why Carlo also lost in the last elections to first-term Congressman Valeriano, even if he had held the post for three consecutive terms or a total of nine long years.
Firstly and sarcastically, Ang notes that Carlo cannot even differentiate an ‘expose’ from an ‘allegation.’
The city administrator explains that what Lopez had been dishing out during the campaign period were mere allegations and not ‘exposes’ as described by Carlo.
“An allegation is a claim or assertion, typically done without any proof. An expose, on the other hand, is a truth which is uncovered,” Ang says.
Obviously, the voters of Manila agree with the city administrator. If they took everything that Lopez had said as ‘exposes,’ then Alex would have won. The fact that Alex lost via a wide margin only goes to show that the voters of Manila see his statements as nothing but mere allegations,” Ang pointed out.
It may also be logical to visit the data in the last elections. Mayor Honey Lacuna received a total of 538,595 votes during the May polls and Alex was a very distant second, getting only 166,908 votes. The difference between their votes is a staggering 371,687.
Now even if the 118,694 votes that went to third placer Amado Bagatsing were added to the votes of Alex, Mayor Honey would still continue to have an overwhelming lead of 252,993 votes.
Claims of massive vote buying and election fraud, he said, is nothing but a template excuse of traditional politicians who just cannot accept the fact that the people they woo do not like and believe in them at all.
It will be recalled that when Carlo, then an incumbent second district Congressman who was on his last term, fielded Alex to take over his post, then three-termer Rolan Valeriano challenged Alex and won.
In the 2022 polls, it was already Carlo himself who challenged Valeriano and yet lost too, despite having been a three-term Congressman.
Ang says the residents in District 2 may have come to realize that what they need to represent them in Congress is someone who really lives in their area. Oooopppsss.
The city administrator says Carlo has yet to prove that he is a true-blue resident in the area which he wanted to represent in Congress.
A Congressman is called a ‘Representative’ and for one to be a true representative, he must be a resident or one with the residents for which he serves as their voice in Congress.
Ang went on to question what Carlo has he done for the residents of Tondo during the pandemic, saying this, for sure, also came into play while the voters were choosing who could represent them best in Congress.
Ang said he stands pat on what he had said except for the part where he spoke well of Carlo, saying he now truly understands why his (Carlo’s) candidacy was junked by Tondo residents. Arghh.
Joke (from Wilson Chavez of Makati City)
Pedro: Alam mo, yung pusa namin kahit nakalagay sa lamesa at walang takip ang ulam namin, hindi kinakain!
Juan: Weh, maniwala ako?!
Pedro: Totoo, pare!
Juan: Eh ano ba ang ulam nyo?
Pedro: Asin!
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