To Prove Who's Telling The Truth: San Roque "No. 3" councilman dares colleagues not to seek reelection

CEBU, Philippines - Councilman Lidiore “Boy” Miranda of Barangay San Roque, Cebu City yesterday challenged his fellow elected barangay officials to sign an agreement not to seek reelection in the forthcoming polls for village officials to prove that his move of complaining against them is not politically motivated.

Miranda said that although several residents of San Roque have asked him to run as barangay captain in the forthcoming elections for the village officials, still he has no plan of entertaining their request and even challenged barangay chairman Rogelio Ruizo and other barangay officials to sign a pact about it.

“Ingna si Kapitan Ruizo nga kaming tanang opisyal sa barangay magpirmahay mi og kasabotan nga walay usa namo’ng molansar sa barangay aron pagwagtang sa pagduda nga ang pagkwestyon nako sa illegal nila nga kalihokan dunay sagol pamolitika,” said Miranda, the No. 3 barangay councilman of San Roque.

Ruizo, for his part, quickly rejected the challenge of Miranda. He said “Nganong mopirma man ko nga gusto man ko nga moserbisyo sa barangay. Siya ang maayong dili na modagan kay wala g’yod siya’y nahimo sa iyang pagka-konsehal.”

But Miranda showed to The FREEMAN several documents that he had sent to City Hall for various projects in the barangay that were favorably acted upon by the city officials; among them were the asphalting project of a road and the holding of sports activities.

“Kun gusto sila, maghimo mi og forum nga tambongan sa mga lumulopyo sa barangay aron mahibaw-an nila kun kinsa ang walay nahimo ug kadtong dunay mga kwestyonable nga kalihokan,” Miranda said.

It was Miranda who filed strings of complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas claiming that he had gathered documents of several questionable financial transactions entered into by his fellow barangay officials that placed their village in a disadvantaged position.

Alleged irregular activities include the spending of their barangay funds for various projects, but Miranda said he was surprised because some dead persons, including the name of the late barangay captain Telesforo Rabaya was included in the list of people who participated in the event and “even took the food offered during the activity.”

Miranda said some of those persons, whose names were included in the list even if they did not attend the activity for the differently abled persons last July 17 to 23, are reportedly planning to file appropriate charges against Ligaya Britania, the Gender and Development (GAD) officer of San Roque.

“Nagplano ron sila si Carmelita Rabaya nga mokiha ni Britania sa iyang pag-ingon nga ang mga tawo nga misulod sa complex atol sa activity sa mga disabled persons mao ra ang nanuwat sa ilang ngalan sa listahan sa attendance,” Miranda said.

Carmelita, daughter of the late barangay chief, said she never attended the week-long event nor signed any attendance sheet. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV    (FREEMAN NEWS)