- MITCH M. LIPA
Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang said former congressman Alfredo “Albee” Benitez should support his statement that Bacolod is “drowning in corruption and poor governance”, and this made him decide to run for mayor in next year’s elections.
Ang said the statement of Benitez lacks support by just saying that there is poor governance in the city. She added that he should know the accomplishments in terms of projects implemented by the city government, so his statement should be supported.
She said the city government has a lot of citations from national agencies that set parameters and criteria on the performance of every local government unit, and certifies performing LGUs through the Seal of Good Governance.
The city has been acknowledged even by nongovernment agencies for its effectiveness in delivering basic services to the people. The business group can testify the competitiveness of the city. The projects are all there, with the figures on how they were implemented, she added.
On the alleged “drowning in corruption” allegation, Ang said the former congressman knows that there is a venue he can run to if he believes that there is corruption. “He can go to the Office of the Ombudsman or the court if he has evidence of corruption and not use the social media. The projects and programs are all in place without any issue.”
Ang said Benitez should give more contexts to his statement, since Bacolod remains to be an admired city for investors “Budlay na kon himuon lang sa social media, it would be his words against others.”
“He should give more contexts for saying that we are drowning,” Ang said as she assures that majority of Bacolod residents can say that Mayor Evelio Leonardia manages the city fairly well in so many aspects of governance. — MML
