Magalong dared to back claims, face House ‘flood’ probe
Show up or shut up.
This was the challenge posed by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong after the latter continued to link yet-unnamed members of the House of Representatives to anomalous flood control projects.
Abante on Saturday said Magalong should “do the honorable thing: appear at our hearings, name names, submit documents, and testify under oath.”
“Results beat rhetoric every time. If Mayor Magalong refuses to face the committee with evidence, then he is nothing more than an empty can—noisy but hollow,” he added.
Magalong has refused to apologize for calling the upcoming House tri-committee probe on flood control projects a mere “moro-moro,” or piece of theater. Lawmakers from Mindanao led by Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong took offense at the term, which dates back to the Spanish colonial era, for being disparaging to the Muslim community.
There was no immediate comment from Magalong regarding Abante’s dare.
The Baguio City mayor earlier said it should be Congress who must apologize “because of what they are doing to the Filipino people … They were exactly the ones being told to have some shame, then you go ahead and conduct your own investigation? I don’t know where that probe would lead.”
‘Eroding trust’
A retired police general, Magalong has been vocal against corruption in government as part of the group Mayors of Good Governance, whose members also include mayors Vico Sotto of Pasig City, Joy Belmonte of Quezon City, and Sitti Hataman of Isabela, Basilan, among others. His latest public speaking engagement earlier this month, before the Management Association of the Philippines, included a detailed presentation on how the various components of road projects are grossly overpriced.
For Abante, however, Magalong’s statements scoffing at the coming House inquiry had been “unfairly eroding trust” in lawmakers.
The mayor, he said, can’t claim a “monopoly on good intentions. We also want to find out who is profiting off the suffering of our countrymen.”
“If he is truly concerned about the Filipino people, then let him have the courage to appear in Congress. It seems Magalong is only brave when facing the media,” Abante said.
‘Third party’
The House plenary on Wednesday adopted via voice vote Resolution No. 145, forming a so-called infracomm composed of three committees that will scrutinize flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
This was despite earlier calls from some members—including the President’s son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos—not to proceed with such inquiry and just leave it to a “third party” or a concerned agency under the executive branch.
