Malonzo critic declared ‘city undesirable’

The Caloocan City Council, in a special session late Friday, passed a resolution declaring City Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo’s former political ally and now most rabid critic Rep. Edgar Erice "persona non grata."

The unnumbered and undated two-page resolution was signed by Councilors Alex Aruelo, Gualberto Bacolod, Dennis Padilla, Henry Cammayo, Susan Punzalan, Melinda Mabagos, and Manny Rayos. They said Erice, a former councilor, deserved the label for his tirades against the Malonzo administration.

Voting 7-2, with five abstaining the city council declared Erice for his "irresponsible assertions, publicly made through print and broadcast media, inimical to the interest of the city causing this local government not only embarrassment but also threatening its economic and political stability."

City hall sources observed that some of those who passed the resolution were not really clear on how to impose the declaration on Erice, who had exposed that Caloocan government was nearing bankruptcy.

"What happens if the congressman from Caloocan enters the city?" some observers asked.

Erice, for his part, said he was unfazed by the resolution. He reiterated that his allegations were not plucked out of the air but were based an audit conducted by a special task force of the Commission on Audit (COA).

Erice said his assertions were not irresponsible since the public can verify them with the concerned national agencies.

"Since when did exposing anomalies at the city hall become inimical to the interest of the city? If the city was embarrassed because of the exposé, who do you think should be blamed?" he asked.

He said Malonzo should stop his personal attacks and cease from distracting the public from the real issues, "which is his administration’s wasteful spending of the people’s money now running to about a billion pesos."

Erice said he was not surprised at the actions of Malonzo, who had earlier challenged him to a martial arts duel.

"The mayor, your ‘Karate Kid’ should explain to the public and answer for the COA-uncovered irregularities at city hall instead of hitting back at me. I am only the whistleblower," the lawmaker said.

Councilor Tino Bagus, one of those who voted against the resolution, lamented his colleagues’ decision.

"I pity some of my colleagues because they apparently do not know what they were doing. Instead of looking into the bankruptcy issue, they instead passed a resolution punishing the whistleblower," he said.