THE SEEMINGLY endless saga of Solsona’s two mayors have reached alarming proportions. Apart from having two mayors, Solsona now will also have no budget for 2016.Citing the active suspension order on Solsona’s top three officials, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has invalidated the town’s 2016 budget upon review. The officials in question are Solsona Mayor Jonathan de Lara, Vice Mayor Joseph de Lara and senior councilor Edison de Lara.
The trio has defied the suspension order handed down by Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda R. Marcos as they continued on with their respective duties and responsibilities as elected officials. Among those duties included the passage of the town’s 2016 budget.
From all possible angles, the suspension can only be tabbed as political. The De Laras have fallen from the Capitol’s grace. The governor, herself, is supporting candidates that oppose the De Laras. And in this power struggle in this eastern Ilocos Norte municipality, the biggest losers are Solsona’s residents.
Those people have chosen the officials they wanted to lead and serve them for the next three years. That mandate expires on June 30, 2016.
The least all other officials can do is to respect that mandate. If they feel that they can offer a better alternative, the next election is just two months away. They can persuade the people to vote for them instead of the De Laras.
In a democracy there will always be voices and opinions that would differ with one another; stifling them would be as good as bludgeoning democracy. Elections, on the other hand, gives the people the right to choose who they want to lead them; removing elected officials for political advantage is not only unfair, it is nefarious even.
If all elected officials really have their constituents’ welfare at heart, then this should have not happened at all. If there are local officials who have overstepped their bounds, then they by all means charge them—but not in a political body, where decisions hinge on political affiliations. They should be charged in the proper forum and given all due process afforded by law.
For after all has been said and done, this political clash only results in the ordinary people becoming the biggest casualties.