It ain't fair

EDGARDO PAMINTUAN was 8^th in the World Mayor Prize 2012, already a hall of famer in the Most Outstanding Mayor of the Philippines search of Superbrands Marketing International, and is the national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines – just to cite the most manifest recognition of his excellence in governance.  

Yet, Angeles City has just been tagged as among the worst cities in the world to drive in, ranked 147^th of 186 – in descending order, with only Manila at 170^th and Cebu City as the worst of the worsts, among Philippine cities. The tagger – Waze, a popular traffic and navigating app used by cab drivers and commuters.

Has not Pamintuan, time and again, initiated traffic innovations such as the creation of a traffic management council with a traffic czar to boot, the holding of  traffic summits, traffic re-routing like that at Koreatown, etcetera, to decongest the city roads and ease traffic flow?

That ain’t fair. To the excellent Pamintuan.

“So, who will pay for this? Mayor Ed Pamintuan, your move.”

So we wrote in an editorial on the cracks on the Clark perimeter road parallel to the Capillion Green Frontier project and followed up in a news story saying: “No action was apparently undertaken by Pamintuan and the city government who exercise jurisdiction on the road. Calls to his office remained unreturned at presstime.”

So the mayor texted us Sunday: “I checked all possible calls from you (to) both city hall staff in charge of receiving calls, mine and Jay (Pelayo) and city executives regarding my comment on the damaged road. Sadly, we never got any calls from your end. Be that as it may, this (is) my comment (which) I’m sure will be given a space as my office and my position as mayor was cited.

“When I saw on FB a photo of the Clark perimeter road on August 31, 2016, I texted at once Sec. Art Tugade and reported to him the cracked cemented road and he answered on the same day, August 31 at 8:18 PM…’Yes Brod Mayor.’

“The following day, Sept.1, at 7:13 am, I got another text message from Sec. Art – ‘Txt from Noel Manankil – Good morning Sir, pinapa-rush na po namin yung pag-seal ng mga cracks sa daan at kausap na po namin yung mga engineers ng Capilion.’

“Hope this clear issues as to my lack of interest in bringing the matter to whoever was responsible for the damage and repair…”    

Yes, for Punto! reporting his apparent inaction on the cracked perimeter road, that ain’t fair to Pamintuan. He texted, he acted. Fair and square, need we still ask for more quarters?  

Just last week, the Angeles City Police Office was “honored” as the Best City Police Office in the whole of Central Luzon – by no less than PNP Director General Ronald de la Rosa himself – and Top 2 in the entire country.

No less than the city’s top cop, Senior Supt. Sidney Villaflor has given due credit to Pamintuan’s all-out support to the police for this signal accomplishment.

Why, in two months’ time alone (July 1 to August 31) the ACPO registered no less than 20 “drug personalities” in anti-drug operations, 197 others arrested and 1,514 surrendered.

Now, for the nitpicking malcontents to still raise the issue of three shabu laboratory raided in Angeles City only this year and lay this down at the feet of Pamintuan just ain’t fair to the truly hardworking, crime-fighting hizzoner.

For these muckrakers to cry “unfairness” in Mabalacat City Mayor Marino Morales shamed as a narco-politician for the proliferation of drugs in his domain vis-à-vis Pamintuan’s squeaky-clean image despite the shabu labs found in his city, is just…well, really ain’t fair. To Pamintuan, duh!

It is not though in being mayor but in his peace panel persona where the unfairest slash of all on Pamintuan these recent days was delivered. 

"Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, adviser of the government's peace panel, had earlier condemned the killings. He alleged that the CPP's armed wing, the New People's Army, and its political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF) are behind the killings due to land disputes."

So reported Jessica Bartolome in gmanews.com, getting the swiftest response of a threat of civil suit from the mayor.

"I never said that! That is a case of malicious reporting. The reporter twisted the truth," said Pamintuan. "The victims were progressive farmer leaders. How can I accuse the NPA and NDF of masterminding the slaying when I know for a fact that the revolutionary forces and progressives (sic) organizations have almost similar goals and will never harm each other.”

Malicious reporting. Twisted truth. It ain’t fair.

And Pamintuan knows that for a fact. In fairness, as the sosi is wont to say.