MikeLigalig.com

http://www.boholchronicle.com/2010/jun/20/editorial.htm
BY THE BOHOL CHRONICLE


DESPERATE MAYOR DRAGS CHURCH
  
The signs of desperation - on top of his tasteless language - of the City Mayor Dan Lim is showing off his Emperor's robe.
Desperate that soon enough the whole world will know about his dictatorial and corrupt ways at City Hall after realizing that independent Manila and Cebu-based (internationally-accredited) media-freedom groups will soon detonate news regarding his excessive trampling of human rights here, the City Mayor is punching blind at the wind.
When the media-freedom groups were in town, the City Mayor was as meek as a lamb in his Mayor's Report (Saturday) - but soon after (they left) renewed his relentless attacks against Station DYRD-Bohol Chronicle. Little did he know that their monitoring did not stop there.
Not even a Roman Catholic himself, the City Mayor has canonized himself once again as the spokesman and accountant of the Catholic Church. He claimed yesterday in his radio circus that Station DYRD was receiving an "annual financial subsidy" from the Church.
It was so easy to demolish that. All Station DYRD's Chito Visarra did was to pointedly ask the Head of the Church here Bishop Leonardo Medroso who categorically denied that there was any such subsidy.
Mayor Lim says there is a "subsidy"; the bishop said there is "no subsidy". And Bishop Medroso is an honorable man. Then one of them is a liar[?]
The desperate man is now dragging the institution of the Church - clutching at straws while the deepening waters reach his neck level. How low can a man get?
The only financial subsidy, in fact, that Station DYRD got was through the Catholic Media Network (of which the station is a long-time member) which gave the one-time grant to all its 40-member stations. This was part of the effort to expand the evangelization aspect of the Good News. Is that bad news for this non-Catholic mayor - for why is he so anxious indeed about efforts in helping the gospel reach many radio listeners?
In a previous public statement, the Mayor who turned church accountant (without the appointment papers) told parishioners that part of the Sunday Mass collections went to station DYRD.
Maybe the church should file libel charges against this apparent blasphemy from a confused man - who not only keeps City Hall accounting records off the public (which are public documents) but now advertises the church accounting records (that he had not seen) on collections and peddles a lie as truth.
But that futile, infantile effort to divide us and the church is of no moment to us now. We will just continue to help the church the best we can.
So far, Station DYRD airs the good Bishop Medroso's reflections every morning beamed from the Bishop's Palace at 6 o'clock and re-broadcast before sign off. Since Father Patrick Peyton's "The Family that Prays Together, Stays Together" in 1961, the station had also regularly had the rosary prayed on air every 8 o'clock in the evening. Of course the numerous special church occasions and announcements.
One can find in this paper, likewise, our sincere effort to offer free space to the cause of evangelization. Those Catholics who listen and read these church-based materials from our twin media outfits and were instead led to spiritual perdition may perhaps file for the mayor's canonization as saint instead?
Let us spare the venerable institution of the church to be used as a tool for one's indefensible positions. It is obvious that the Mayor wants to discredit this media who had brought issues against him (and several others outside of the city) because he is losing the war.
Imagine that months before the election, the Mayor proudly paraded his popularity as 80%-20% or 8 out of 10 people. On election day, despite news of harassment, disenfranchisement, vote buying and electronic rigging , this dropped to 60-40% or 6 out of 10 people during the actual election. A hollow victory- from where he came from allegedly.
Meantime, Station DYRD that he so derides, (based on the latest Feb-March HNU survey) rode on a crest of high popularity on programs and time slots that mattered most -- which means credibility has its merits. And if he is honest enough, the Mayor must accept the HNU Radio Survey reports since he wanted people to believe his HNU pre-election survey results as well.
What is good for the goose must be good for the gander - don't you think?
Now not content with other forms, the new publicized harassment game of the Mayor, per the Philippine Daily Inquirer, is to file libel cases against the paper and/or the station. We welcome such libel suits.
It is a citizen's perfect right to avail of remedies under the law. We welcome these suits because this will be the public's and the media's golden opportunity to finally arrive at the truth behind the anomalies at City Hall.
If the matter goes to the courts, then media shall avail of the coercive subpoena processes, so we can compel the production of the City Hall documents that the Mayor ha[d]s for so long a time, concealed from the public.
We shall subpoena the accounting records so the public will know the true state of the unliquidated advances and missing vouchers. We shall subpoena the records of the Mayor's intelligence funds [to court], so the court will determine if this media was right in exposing the irregularities in City Hall.
We shall subpoena the anomalous multi-million peso loan documents with DBP involving the shameful and shameless anapog road project. We shall subpoena the contracts regarding the Gallares extension rehabilitation and the DPWH standards of road construction measure and see if the sore thumb sticks.
We shall subpoena all the documents related to the Agora "sweetheart deal" that reportedly cheated the city of millions of pesos in a crooked deal hatched by the City.
It is easy to subpoena realtors and engineers to understand the going rates in related sitios in the city compared to that subsumed in the Agora ROT deal.
We shall subpoena the appointment papers of all members of the dreaded task force and those "casuals" hired before and during the election year. We shall subpoena all documents related to the so-called benefits to senior citizens. And so forth.
Finally, we shall avail of every right to cross examine the complainant-to-be, Dan Lim himself, so he will have to personally respond, under oath and on the witness stand, all these public interest issues that have been discussed in media. (Dan Lim's laughable and distorted theory is that discussion of public issues tantamount to libel)
We expect a stream of high-caliber lawyers who would only be more-than-willing to personally cross examine Dan Lim---in our behalf---to finally extract answers, which Dan Lim himself has long evaded, and concealed from the public.
Cross examination, as we know, is a person's fundamental, constitutional right to elicit the truth and to confront the charges leveled against him.
Truth, as we also know, is always a defense.
We assure our readers and listeners full media coverage if or when the mayor takes the witness stand.
How exciting this unfolding legal drama will be.
Dan Lim will be doing a great service not only to the media, but the general public as well. For it has been quite a time now that our media enterprise has been seeking the publication of these hidden public documents.
We subpoena these documents and then publish, inform verbally (through radio) and share them with the public. Public documents they are, remember? This is our media institution's duty to society.
As a bonus, that should help surge our chart-topping sales and circulation and listenership, by further arousing our readers' and listeners' already titillated curiosity about the growing pile of dirt inside the City Mayor's Office
.
So, our response to Mayor Dan Lim's libel threats, bring it on, City Mayor.
With the impending libel suits, we can only refer to the words of the Bible: "And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall set you free."

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Lim Commits to take Full Advantage of Mandate

(Source: http://www.boholtimesonline.com/2010-lim-commits-to-take-full-advantage-of-mandate.html)

Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim yesterday made a commitment to take full advantage of the overwhelming mandate given to him by the city constituents.
“You have my word that I will work hard to surpass my previous performance because this is my way of expressing appreciation for the trust you have given me,” he declared.
The mayor recalled that when he first won as mayor in 2004, it was probably out of pity for his six successive electoral defeats.
Lim noted that he worked hard to implement his pro-people programs particularly the support for education which included free school uniforms, school bags and school supplies for all elementary public school pupils.
In addition, he also proved his concern for senior citizens initially by paying tribute to them on their birthdays and providing for their health requirements including free maintenance medicines.
The mayor also introduced free hospitalization services through the Blue Card which was all it took for a beneficiary to receive prompt and free medical attention at accredited hospitals.
“When you gave me my second term, it was more than just giving me something for my epitaph,” he said with a laugh.
Lim said that his 2007 win was made sweeter because he won it over his long-time nemesis, ex-Mayor Jose Torralba by a margin of more than 4,000.
Since it was the biggest margin then in the city’s history, Lim said it more than made up for all his losses at the hands of Torralba including the 1998 elections which he won on appeal at the Supreme Court but which became moot and academic because the decision came out only months before the 2001 election.
Lim said his victory last May 10, however, was more meaningful because it came in the face of a concerted and vicious campaign waged against him by the most powerful media organization in Bohol.
In spite of this, the mayor handily won his match-up with Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso.
Lim overwhelmed Veloso’s accumulated votes by a wide margin of 8,335.
The mayor said he is humbled by the trust and confidence given to him by the majority of the people of Tagbilaran.
“I will work harder than ever because I want to express my gratitude for the city that gave me this privilege to prove my worth,” he added.
Lim said that the last three years had exacted a heavy toll not only on him but also on the city in terms of programs and projects that were frustrated not because they were not good but because his opponents did not want him to succeed.
The mayor is confident that things will change for the better in the next three years because of the change of administration.
“We are confident that there will be no more harassments and persecutions like those in the previous administration,” he added.
Lim said the people deserve better service than the ones his opponents would like them to have.



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