Ben Contreras ACCORDING to former Taglimao barangay chairman William Guialani, Cagayanons are happy and vindicated on the dismissal of Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno. He is allegedly incompetent, controlled by the Pimentels, and a hindrance to genuine change. The DILG regional office here, perceived to be pro-Moreno, took time to implement the Ombudsman’s order when it could do so in a normal course, giving the impression that some people there wanted to give the mayor enough time to seek legal remedies at the Court of Appeals. Guialani even went to Manila to pressure Sueno into acting on the order of the court but his efforts failed. Politics is a game of politicians to outwit the other. Guialani lost and with his defeat, he lost the appetite to pursue a seemingly lost cause, a cause he felt didn’t gain any support from well-meaning people. Since Sueno is now out, sacked for alleged corruption, would the OIC DILG Secretary Catalino Cuy be any different from Sueno? Guialani will surely be observing on the sidelines, waiting for his next move, if any. If Mayor Moreno has been seen trying to be near the President, he must have his own worries. Moreno is known to be “yellow” but has strong connections/alliance with the Pimentels. I met former acting city treasurer Glenn Bañez one time at the Camp Evangelista during one of President Duterte’s visits. I asked: “Are you with the mayor?” Banez: “I came alone. He (the mayor) is not in the good graces of (sic) the President.” BC: “What if he arrives?” Banez: “Then he will be in an awkward position.” BC: “I heard you’ve resigned.” Banez: “I was being recalled back to Quezon City.” Some quarters believed he’s been fired. I guess Glenn knew too much for comfort. The last time President Duterte was here to visit the wounded soldiers, the President uttered something that made the mayor the butt of a nasty joke. Perhaps, it was meant to send a message. Guialani must be smiling now! When heads start to roll, expect more in the coming days. It’s something that didn’t happen in the past. Those before Duterte were too protective of their men. Something about this sacking is very telling. The President is taking the risk of these people to turn against him. But it is also logical to say that they don’t have the goods.
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The work on the bridge in Opol is taking a positive turn. UKC must have been working double time. At its stage now, we can hope to see traffic moving faster within the next two weeks. So much time, gas and productivity have been unnecessarily wasted. With the deployment of some traffic enforcers to Opol, and our very own RTA, traffic has been a bit manageable and tolerable. Still, during rush hours, it can still be a harrowing experience. Just a bit of humor, do you know what “DPWH” means? Somebody said, “Daghan Project Waay Human.”