CEBU - Daanbantayan Vice Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot denied allegations that she and her supporters are barricading the municipal hall, contending that their opponents are just getting “paranoid.”
“Wala intawon nagbarikada diri,” Loot told The FREEMAN in response to a press statement from Augusto “Itok” Corro raising concerns over “disturbing reports” the Loot camp barricaded the town’s municipal hall a few nights ago.
Corro, who was recently declared by the court as the duly-elected mayor of the town and not Loot’s son, Mayor Sun Shimura, has claimed to have received reports about the barricade, including the entry to the treasurer’s office, which he said might be an act of hiding something from the public.
“Makaduda kining mga lakang; daw aduna sila’y gitaguan or gipanghipos aron makalingkawas sa mga questionable nga mga transactions sa municipal hall. Hinaut unta dili kini mga lakang aron pagtabon sa ilang mga binuang,” Corro said.
Loot dared Corro to go to the Commission on Audit and have her investigated for whatever anomalies that the latter wants to think of.
Corro added that it is now getting clear that the Loots are “starting to realize their fake leadership is about to crumble” which is why they are “moving heaven and earth to subvert the law and subvert the will of the people”.
But Loot said: “Dili kaha sila ang nag-move ug heaven and earth? Ilang gipalit ang korte ug sila ang namalit ug balota. Na-paranoid na man tingali na si Itok.”
Loot, an undefeated mayor for three consecutive terms, said that Corro will never replace Shimura as mayor of Daanbantayan and there is no way also for Jose de Leon to replace her as the duly elected vice mayor of the town, she said.
The court had also declared De Leon as the duly-elected vice mayor of the town, following his electoral protest with Corro against the results of the last elections where Shimura and Loot emerged the winners.
Meanwhile, Loot and Shimura issued a joint press statement saying that they never coerced the teachers to execute affidavits to defend them from accusations of electoral fraud in the last polls.
The two contended that the word “coerced” by the Corro camp is now the talk of the town because it “clearly insults and maligns the integrity, dignity and intelligence of the teachers of Daanbantayan”.
They added that Corro should be glad that the teachers are now coming out in the open with their testimonies because it might even bolster his allegations that he was cheated at the precinct level during the 2007 elections.
“Paanhi-a na si Itok diri sa Daanbantayan. Tan-awon ta ug dili ba siya malabayan ug kamatis,” Loot said. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/RAE (THE FREEMAN)