“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” –Mary Tyler Moore
Public officials facing a case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman normally refuse to speak with the media out of fear of the oft-repeated adage, “More talk, more mistakes.” If they feel even an iota of guilt, these public officials are dissuaded by lawyers from talking about merits of their case. In many cases, they cry “political harassment,” even before the suit reaches the public’s attention.
For Mayor Rosario Mediatrix Fernandez of San Enrique, Iloilo, instead of saying “No comment” or “Talk to my lawyers,” he confidently declared she would defend herself in court.
“I will prove no public funds were stolen,” she stated.
Treasurer
Fernandez and former municipal treasurer Imelda Celebrar are facing charges from the Sandiganbayan for delayed contributions from municipal employees to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF, or Pag-IBIG), amounting to P5.96 million.
GSIS contributions that were not paid right away covered the months of January to October 2011, April 2012, and June to October 2012.
Fernandez and Celebrar also failed to remit a total P620,000 to HDMF on time. The contributions should have been remitted “within 30 days from the time they became due and demandable.”
When the news broke last month, the local chief executive allowed the press to get her side and never gave them a hard time.
Ready
As long as she did not steal, Fernandez said she is ready to face the case. She declared: “Amo man lang ‘ni ang aton lapse pero ma-assure ko ang akon mga kasimanwa nga wala sang may nadula nga pundo.”
She further explained: “Seguro for some reason seguro negligence man kun kis-a masalig sila (treasurer and accounting office), ma-delay ang mga remittances, not being aware nga may legal impediment ini s’ya gali. Clean and transparent ang governance naton. Ang ini nga lapse is delay sa remittance, not nga gintakaw ang kwarta.”
Fernandez is probably not afraid to be penalized as long as no taxpayer money went into her pocket.
This makes her case unique among other cases filed in the Office of the Ombudsman.
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In the Philippines today, what President Rodrigo Duterte wants, President Rodrigo Duterte gets.
If the president wants congress to “urgently” pass the death penalty bill before his term expires, President Duterte’s wish will surely be granted – barring some unforeseen circumstances, like the passionate and aggressive opposition by the church and human rights organizations.
The debate on the restoration of capital punishment in a pre-dominantly Catholic country, like the Philippines, is expected to explode and produce a violent lava that will define the Duterte administration.
The events that will unfold in the next three months are worth watching./WDJ