I heard that a sore loser during the last local elections in Manila is once again propagating stupid lies, using a social media account that was created for the sole purpose of inventing issues against the sitting administration.
I do not wish to legitimize him or any of his ridiculous lies but I feel constrained to discuss the issue at hand in this column for the sake of our beloved Manilans who may be misled by the falsehoods being propagated by our political rivals, using a social media account which is aptly known as “One Manira.” If I can save a couple or so from the handful of viewers of the said account, it is good enough for me.
A well-meaning resident from Tondo has told me that a defeated political candidate is spreading lies that the good mayor and myself are doing things to help businessman Andrew Tan of Suntrust become the developer of the reclamation project in Manila, that we are trying to influence the Senate to investigate the developers namely William Gatchalian and brothers William and Wilson Tieng and one JR Legaspi for not properly informing the city government.
These allegations are untrue, baseless and downright stupid. In the first place, Mr. Tan never expressed any interest in the said project, moreso, apply for any stake in it. So, how could you help give a project to someone who has not even applied for it or who has not shown any interest at all?
While our rivals are claiming to be super close to President Bongbong Marcos, Jr., they apparently are not even aware of PBBM’s early pronouncements the moment he assumed office.
The President announced that apart from those already approved prior to his term, no new applications for permits for reclamation projects will be approved by his administration. It only goes to show that those spreading the lies are not only pretending to be close to Malacanang, they are also ignorant and failed to do at least a bit of research.
Another show of stupidity is dragging even the Senate.
Obviously, again, the lies are so blatant that our detractors forgot that Sherwin Gatchalian, the son of William Gatchalian who is currently a member of the Senate.
How on earth can we influence the Senate into investigating the developers, one of which is the father of a sitting Senator? Besides, I see no reason why the Senate needs to be prodded to investigate any wrongdoing or step into the picture at all, when there is already a body specifically tasked with the job of probing into such cases, which is the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA). The PRA is the one in charge of overseeing the reclamation project and ensure that no violation on the part of the concerned parties goes unchecked.
The foregoing facts clearly illustrate how stupid those behind the lies are. I hope our rivals will stop propagating pure nonsense and stupidity at the expense of innocent netizens.
By the way, since the barangay elections is just around the corner, I suggest that those who lost to Mayor Honey Lacuna and party and who have difficulty moving on, try running for barangay chairman in the very area where they claim to be residents, although we know for a fact they are not because they actually reside in another city.
If they win in the area where they purportedly live and which I seriously doubt, then it means that somehow, they have managed to sell their lies, albeit to a very few only. Just the same, it would be a good start to rise to being a city councilor, a congressman, a vice mayor and then mayor.
The problem with the losers we are talking of is that they want to get to the top position without any experience at all in local governance. Having failed in seeking a lower local post already speaks a lot and the message is clear— the people in your own area do not like you.
Now, after losing in the last elections once again, this sore loser would want to run again using the same old, dirty tactics of smear campaign which clearly did not work as he lost by miles and miles to Mayor Honey Lacuna. Either he has not learned his lesson or refuses to learn.
All this person does is lie, not only to himself but to the people of Manila whom I doubt if they listen at all, given that the posts against the sitting officials garner no significant number of views.
He claims to be better than anyone else yet does not do anything for the people of Manila who are in need. Apart from trying his luck in the forthcoming barangay elections where he stands a chance –I am not even sure of this—I suggest that this political hard loser better start to walk the talk.
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