THE SEEMINGLY endless saga of
Solsona’s two mayors have reached alarming proportions. Apart from having two
mayors, Solsona now will also have no budget for 2016.
Citing the active suspension
order on Solsona’s top three officials, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has
invalidated the town’s 2016 budget upon review. The officials in question are
Solsona Mayor Jonathan de Lara, Vice Mayor Joseph de Lara and senior councilor
Edison de Lara.
The trio has defied the
suspension order handed down by Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda R. Marcos as
they continued on with their respective duties and responsibilities as elected
officials. Among those duties included the passage of the town’s 2016 budget.
From all possible angles, the
suspension can only be tabbed as political. The De Laras have fallen from the
Capitol’s grace. The governor, herself, is supporting candidates that oppose
the De Laras. And in this power struggle in this eastern Ilocos Norte
municipality, the biggest losers are Solsona’s residents.
Those people have chosen the
officials they wanted to lead and serve them for the next three years. That
mandate expires on June 30, 2016.
The least all other officials
can do is to respect that mandate. If they feel that they can offer a better
alternative, the next election is just two months away. They can persuade the
people to vote for them instead of the De Laras.
In a democracy there will
always be voices and opinions that would differ with one another; stifling them
would be as good as bludgeoning democracy. Elections, on the other hand, gives
the people the right to choose who they want to lead them; removing elected
officials for political advantage is not only unfair, it is nefarious even.
If all elected officials
really have their constituents’ welfare at heart, then this should have not
happened at all. If there are local officials who have overstepped their
bounds, then they by all means charge them—but not in a political body, where
decisions hinge on political affiliations. They should be charged in the proper
forum and given all due process afforded by law.
For after all has been said
and done, this political clash only results in the ordinary people becoming the
biggest casualties.
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