I ask our dear readers to please forgive me for having spoken too soon.
In my column dated as far back as June 3, 2022, I opined that the talkativeness and recklessness of Alex Lopez, erstwhile rival of now Mayor Honey Lacuna, brought not only his very own downfall but also, collaterally, that of his brother Manny Lopez who was an incumbent Congressman and cousin Carlo, a former Congressman himself.
In that column, I even expressed admiration for former Congressmen Manny and Carlo for not speaking ill of anybody and for knowing how to accept defeat graciously and stated that I consider them as good friends and true gentlemen. I also cited my association with Carlo as we are both active in the Philippine Red Cross.
Recently, I learned that ex-Cong. Carlo, in a social media post, supposedly denied my ‘accusations’ that he and Manny lost ‘because of the expose of Alex Lopez of corruption in City Hall,’ as he claimed that “several anti-graft cases were filed by independent individuals, groups, and supporters of Atty. Alex Lopez claims (sic) of corruption in city hall.”
“The main reason for our electoral defeat was, massive vote buying and massive election fraud, more than 30 candidates from all parties signed a manifestation condemning the massive election fraud in the local elections in the city of Manila.
First of all, let me be clear. I never said that Carlo and Manny lost because of the ‘expose’ of Alex. I said it was because of the too much talkativeness of and reckless, baseless accusations made by Alex which were rejected by the voters, given the fact that all three Lopezes –Alex, Carlo and Manny— lost bigtime to Mayor Honey, Congressman Rolan Valeriano and first-time Congressional candidate Ernix Dionisio. I stand by what I said.
With ex-Cong. Carlo’s post, I now have a clearer understanding of why he, too, had lost. In the first place, he uses words he does not fully understand. He does not know the difference between an allegation and an ‘expose.’
What Alex came up with during the campaign period are mere allegations. An allegation is a claim or assertion, typically done without any proof. An expose, on the other hand, is a truth which is uncovered.
The claims of Alex were never taken by the people of Manila as ‘exposes’ because otherwise, all three Lopezes would have won. The voters were intelligent enough to decipher truths from lies as well as real issues from politically-motivated ones.
Ex-Cong. Carlo also apparently has not paid the local government code a visit, since he is clueless what a city administrator is.
Now with regard to the several anti-graft cases which ex-Cong. Carlo said were filed by their camp, this is all but part of politics, just like what our group did when we filed 28 such cases against his father back then, and I’m sure he is aware of this.
Now, in claiming that their family had lost due to massive vote buying and election fraud, again, this is nothing but a template excuse of traditional politicians who just cannot accept the fact that the people they woo do not like and believe in them at all.
When ex- Cong. Carlo, then an incumbent second district Congressman, fielded Alex to take over his post, then three-termer Rolan Valeriano challenged their dynasty and won handily.
This time around, during the recently-concluded May polls, ex-Cong. Carlo himself challenged Valeriano and yet lost again, despite having been a three-term Congressman.
The residents in his district may have come to realize that ex-Cong. Carlo had been duping them bigtime all those years. In the first place, is he even a true-blue resident in the area which he purportedly represents in Congress?
A Congressman is called a ‘Representative’ and for one to be a true representative, he must be a resident or one with the residents for which he serves as their voice in Congress.
Secondly, what has he done for the residents of Tondo during the pandemic? For sure, this came into play while the voters were choosing who could represent them best.
Ex-Cong. Carlo also claims that “Atty. Alex Lopez exposures of corruption in city hall is his duty and the people of Manila support him.” Really?? The people of Manila support him?
May I remind the defeated Congressman that Mayor Honey Lacuna received a total of 538,595 votes during the May polls and that Alex was a very distant second, getting only 166,908 votes? The difference between their votes is a staggering 371,687.
Even if the 118,694 votes that went to third placer Amado Bagatsing were added to the votes of Alex, Mayor Honey would still continue to have an overwhelming lead of 252,993 votes.
Ex-Cong Carlo’s statements defy logic. Now I really, truly understand why his candidacy was junked by Tondo residents. Tsk, tsk, tsk!!
***
(Comments and suggestions may be emailed to peoplestonightonline@gmail.com.)
