Robredo brands intrigues as 'ridiculous'

MANILA, Philippines - Relatives of former Naga City Councilor Emilio Aguinaldo have blamed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo for the disappearance of the former councilor.

Aguinaldo has filed 50 cases against Robredo, the former mayor of Naga, before the Ombudsman.

Aguinaldo has been missing since June 8, 2008. He was last seen going to Manila to follow up the cases he had filed against Robredo.

Aguinaldo’s wife Marina said her husband had to sell three pigs so he would have money to go to Manila.

Aguinaldo had become impatient with the slow pace of the Ombudsman in resolving the cases against Robredo.

“I dont want to think that my husband is already dead. I just want to know what happened to him. We are afraid to ask questions since Robredo is in the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” Marina said.

Aguinaldo had filed more than 50 administrative and criminal cases against Robredo, accusing the former Naga mayor of violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices act. Included in the graft case is the questionable construction of the Naga City Coliseum.

Marina lamented that most of the cases are still pending with the Ombudsman.

“We could not secure justice from the case especially if they have high connections in the government. But I still hope that we could achieve justice and the truth will come out on the struggle left by my husband,” she said.

In its editorial, the Naga-based newspaper Peninsula Monitor urged Robredo to take a hand in the search for the missing city official.

Robredo had repeatedly shrugged off Aguinaldo as mere nuisance but it cannot be denied that he, too, had been elected by the Naga City electorate, the editorial read.

Robredo has to move fast like the superman of the movies before innuendoes sink deeper in the minds of Naga City constituents still baffled and perturbed over the ugly monument called Naga City Coliseum, the editorial pointed out.

Robredo also faces a slew of allegations, among them that he received jueteng payola from the first cousin of his wife, a certain Alex Tang.

Another report had it that one of his brothers had some business dealings with Charlie Atong Ang, the disgraced gambling adviser of former President Joseph Estrada regarding jai-alai operations. Robredo was also accused of being a non-Filipino citizen.

In 2007, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued a ruling that declared Robredo as a non-Filipino citizen.

The Comelec said Robredo remained a Chinese citizen because his grandfather Lim Teng, who failed to establish proof of residency in the Philippines.

In his response to the Comelec disqualification suit, Robredo said his grandfather later adopted the name Juan Robredo.

The Comelec said there was no evidence that Lim Teng was the same person as Juan Robredo.

In addition, the Comelec said Lim Teng remained a Chinese citizen since the only proof of his being in the Philippines was Lims arrival on April 2, 1896.

It said there was no evidence that would show that he was able to establish his permanent residence here.

In addition, the Comelec said Robredo failed to perform any act showing his intention to elect Filipino as his citizenship.

(Robredo) is now deemed to have forfeited his privilege to avail of the option of electing Philippine citizenship, the Comelec said.

Robredo, on the other hand, laughed off the allegations and said they were merely intrigues being peddled by critics who had been affected by his strong advocacy against illegal gambling.

Robredo said the misinformation, which he described as ridiculous, was apparently meant to divert the attention of the public and the government away from jueteng.

“Ha ha ha, ridiculous, they should do better than these and those issues came out two weeks ago, it seems the guilty are looking for a diversion,” Robredo replied in a text message.

Robredo said he fought jueteng operations in Naga City while he was still mayor. And his accomplishment as the local executive of Naga prompted various sectors to support his appointment to the DILG.