COMMENTARY: Gangs sign truce as mayor,his vice, start feud

MAYOR’S VICE STIRS FEUD;

CITYHALL GRAFT RAMPANT?

A COMMENTARY.



The bloods and crips have just signed a truce,…. only to be replaced by a verbal feud between the city mayor and his vice mayor over issues that could easily be settled over a cup of coffee and not on issues about major policies.



First the city vice mayor struck a relevant note when he raised the issue of conflict of interest over the business of sand and gravel owned by the family of the city administrator and is allegedly being quite patronized by the city government.

That is a valid issue and should be proven first before we make conclusions. Therefore the city vice mayor must do his homework and produce evidence and raise the issue in the proper forum like the ombudsman perhaps.



Later the vice mayor raises the issue of clearing the parks and plazas of ambulant and permanent vendors. Mayor perdices goes a step further by making the order city wide, by clearing all public parks and plazas including the boulevard of vendors.



Needless to say that many poor vendors will lose their livelihood but the question is, why were they given permits in the first place, and only to be revoked after the privilege speech of the vice mayor. You mean the vice mayor stirred the hornets nest so that now the law will be implemented.?



Before both officials lose threir credibilities, the mayor and the vice mayor better call a time-out, and evaluate the issues they are raising against each other. They are like to overgrown kids playing senseless pingpong.

We have bigger problems at hand, and the city has bigger stakes like the many still unsolved extra judicial killings, the latest victim is the son of dr petel lozada whom police say is drug related, plus the familiar 9mm bullets used. The insecurity of foreign students who are constantly being victims of robbers and burglaries. And the reported kurakot issue inside city hall and its nature. How to make dumaguete city a safe city SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY, not parks and plazas as beyond the commerce of man.

We say the two gentlement mayor perdices and vice mayor maquiling better sit down and list their priorities, instead of wasting time in less substantive press conferences and privilege speeches. ---30---