longcuts

It was a big surprise last Monday when we got the report that RTC Judge Flux Baluma has inhibited himself from hearing the ROT case filed by a group of lawyers against the city government and a private consortium.
Reports said the inhibition was anchored on his filial relations with one of the petitioners, city kagawad Djingo Rama.
Djingo is reportedly a relative of Baluma’s deceased wife.
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When I talked to Judge Flux later on the day, he said this inhibition was exclusive of the case only. That is, because of the presence of Djingo Rama.
In all other cases, Judge Flux will not inhibit himself, he said.
I cannot do anything because this is mandatory inhibition, he added.
* * *
Naturally, there were skeptics.
Why only now, some said.
The issue was not raised before, not from the complainants or the respondents.
And besides, there are reports that Djingo Rama does not consider himself as one of the complainants. It was probably a freak legal accident that his name was included as a complainant but the complaint does not bear his signature.
If this is true – that Djingo Rama is not a complainant in that case – then there is no basis for inhibiting from the case.
* * *
In his radio program yesterday, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim said he would elevate the issue to the Deputy Court Administrator of the Supreme Court.
He felt the actuations of Judge Flux breached the acceptable judicial standards.
Bears watching how the Supreme Court will deal on this issue.
If memory serves, the last time the city mayor raised an issue against Judge Flux to the Supreme Court, a judicial audit was later conducted.
The Family Court was later transferred from Judge Flux’s sala to the sala of Judge Venancio Amila. That was after the judicial audit.
* * *
The scathing letter of the city mayor to Judge Flux was partly read last Saturday during his Ang Mayor sa Dakbayan radio program.
To my reckoning, the focal point has something to do with the issue of honorarium.
He said that Judge Flux tried to picture himself as a saint by smearing the act of granting honorarium to judges.
“For the record,” the mayor said, “it was not the honorable judge who refused to receive his honorarium from the city government. It was the city government that discontinued the granting of his honorarium over his deplorable handling of cases in his sala.”
He also said that if Judge Flux was so averse to receiving honorarium, he ought to explain if he does not religiously claim his honorarium from the province. The mayor said Judge Flux cannot be averse to the honoraria from the city and be excited about the honoraria from the province.
Judge Flux has an answer to this.
He said that he is not averse to receiving the honorarium from the province because the governor does not intervene in his judicial functions.
Meaning, that he thought the city mayor has intervened in his sala.
He was referring to that controversial child abuse case involving a prominent citizen of the city and a little boy which was lodged in his sala at that time that it was still a Family Court.
Judge Flux resented what he called the “intervention” of the mayor in that particular case.
The mayor explained that he assisted the victim because of what he called a double whammy.
One, the boy was victimized. And two, the delay in the resolution of the case was traumatic on his part.
Because of the long delay, the mayor took the cudgels and did what he thought was best to hasten the proceedings of the case.
* * *
The mayor also said that Judge Flux claimed in his inhibition order that the grant of honorarium by the city government should not be gauged and should not tamper judicial independence as judges have their sworn duties to uphold.
“It is tragic that in his vain attempt to suggest that the undersigned is using the honorariums to influence the judges, he has actually opened all the judges receiving honorarium from the city government to suspicion, if not public contempt for giving up their judicial independence,” the mayor said.
Judge Flux confirmed that following the dirty exchange both in print and on the airlanes, there was a meeting among the RTC judges.
He said one of the issues discussed was about the issue involving the “chamber to chamber” distribution of allowances from the city.
The other RTC judges naturally expressed their disappointment over the way the issue about the honorarium was played up. There was a discussion and Judge Flux said everything was threshed out in that meeting.
And they are still friends, he emphasized.
* * *
Meanwhile, the city treasurer has sent a “notice of collection” to the Bohol Chronicle Radio Corporation thru my kumpare Peter Dejaresco.
According to city treasurer Visitacion Acero, the Bohol Chronicle has not paid business taxes on the year 2003 and the years prior to that.
Peter told me yesterday evening that they would answer the notice of collection tomorrow, Monday.
This “conflict” is getting dirty.
I dunno how this will turn up but for sure there are already heavy toll on both sides.
Nobody is winning. And nobody is losing either. The barrage is continuing and the number of casualty is certain to escalate.
Some people are having a grand time listening to the daily verbal barrage, true to form that “basta intriga gani, moangay gyod ang mga tawo.”
But others are not pleased. They are complaining because instead of harnessing productivity and good will, this is divisive, foments hostility and inimical to progress.
Well, this is democracy at work here. Everybody feels he has a right to say something on anything. Everybody feels his opinion is important and he has to say it as a matter of right.
* * *
Anyway, Longcuts hopes somebody will be able to worm his way into the hearts and minds of the city mayor and the Dejarescos and find a common ground to forge a mutually-accepted ceasefire.
That would be the day.
More when we return, stay tuned for more.

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Anybody who wants to be amused, better read this.
City kagawad Dandan Bantugan claims there is a provision in the city sanggunian house rules that requires the use of English in the deliberation of the august body.
So when city kagawad Djingo Rama started talking or wanted a resource person to talk in the vernacular, he butted in and invoked the rules.
Sparks flew because Djingo Rama reportedly insisted on speaking in the vernacular.
You see, even the use of English or the task of following simple instructions can become a potential source of heated debates.
Obviously, Djingo Rama is not comfortable with the English language, he would rather have it in the vernacular. He must be thinking that it was okay and it was well within his rights.
* * *
But if it is true that house rules mandate the use of English language in sanggunian deliberations, then by all means city kagawad Djingo Rama has to comply.
He cannot just make his own rules. In fact, he is bound to follow the rules because they were purposely formulated to ensure a smooth and orderly deliberation.
If he cannot follow this basic instruction, assuming there is such a rule, then he ought to shut his mouth off and preside the committee on silence.
Moreover, I can foresee a big problem if Djingo Rama is given liberty to use whatever language or dialect he fancies.
Everybody knows that the proceedings in the sanggunian or its committees are recorded. Every word spoken, even gestures are supposed to be recorded.
In fact, I know of one vice mayor who insists that coughs, sneezes, laughters, including that terrible ahem and other similar verbal gestures should be recorded in the official transcript.
He justified this as a recording of what actually transpired during the sanggunian deliberations. Short of that, he said, and the transcript of proceedings becomes an edited version.
Okay, let’s go back to Djingo Rama.
Supposing Djingo Rama will deliver his message in the vernacular, what will be recorded by the secretariat?
Naturally, the very words spoken by Djingo Rama.
In the process of translation, the issue of competence of the translator will come into play. That, plus the fact that there are words in the vernacular which are susceptible of different meanings or interpretations.
As such, there is big possibility that in the final copy, the original intention might be lost.
I don’t think Djingo Rama would like that to happen.
* * *
The controversy over the use of English language is not the only amusing thing, though.
In Friday’s regular session, the sanggunian decided to informally invite city accountant Kurt Bungabong to explain about the unreleased financial assistance to the barangays.
Informal, because there was no formal invitation sent to him. He was seen walking down from the 3rd floor so he was invited right there and then.
After Bungabong has explained the issue, city kagawad Djingo Rama must have thought it the right time to ventilate an issue that has long been pestering his mind.
So Djingo Rama asked Bungabong to explain why he answered Rama’s letter in a way that Rama considered as disrespectful or words to that effect.
Even before Bungabong could answer, city kagawad Oscar Glovasa butted in and questioned the propriety of Rama’s conduct.
Out of order, Glovasa boomed, because Bungabong was invited for a specific purpose only. He stressed that Bungabong was not there to entertain any issue that the city kagawads may fancy.
To some observers, they thought Djingo Rama was merely
“nag-inato” because he forgot to reflect on the house rules.
House rules na sab!
Well anyway, when things cooled down a bit between Glovasa and Rama, another heated argument broke out.
This time it was between Rama and FABC president Faro Cabalit. Sources told Longcuts minus the cooler heads and hands, there would have been a terrible verbal spat or worst, a fist fight.
Wonderful. That would have been a first.
* * *
Longcuts is glad that RTC Judge Teofilo Baluma readily admitted that he erred when he stated in his January 189, 2009 Order that the city mayor of Tagbilaran worked out for his removal “in cohort of the past officialdom of the IBP….”
During our interview with Judge Baluma in Kwentas Claras, Judge Flux admitted that he only noted a semblance but has no direct proof about the alleged involvement of the IBP.
He was referring to an incident during my incumbency as president of IBP-Bohol when the judicial audit was conducted. This judicial audit resulted to the transfer of the family court from branch 1 under Judge Baluma to branch 3 under Judge Venancio Amila.
I made it clear to Judge Baluma that during such judicial audit, his lawyer-son was also a member of the IBP board. So his son ought to know if IBP-Bohol was somehow involved.
I also told Judge Baluma that in fact, I purposely asked Atty. Rullyn Garcia, the head of the team that conducted the judicial audit, to attend and explain the reason for the audit during the meeting of the IBP board at JJs Seafood Village where his lawyer-son was also present. That was intended to clear up things.
Anyway, there were several things that transpired during that time and immediately thereafter that should make an interesting reading in this column.
But for now, I see no need to open my mind further.
* * *
What do Senator Chiz Escudero and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap have in common?
Both have visited Bohol recently.
Both are said to be entertaining political ambitions in 2010, Chiz as president and Arthur as congressman of the 3rd district.
And both said “trabaho muna” when asked about their political plans in 2010.
Sources told me Chiz will get full support from NPC chair Danding Cojuangco and taipan Lucio Tan, said to be an uncle and godfather. If true, Chiz should find it very easy to plaster his face on TV many times of the day or night.
Expect a lot of news coverage for Chiz these days.
* * *
Governor Aumentado said works for the Panglao airport project will start this coming July. He did not mention the year but I hope he meant it to be July 2009. This is similar to his promise to Vice Governor Julius Herrera that he would be the governor in the next elections.
When asked about this, he quipped did I say when?
The governor said that instead of a concrete runway, he was advised that an asphalt runway with European standards is better and quicker. The Iloilo airport is a prime example.
Apparently convinced about the viability of the asphalt runway, the governor said before the term of the president ends, and so with his term as governor, there will be a soft inauguration of the project.
Lisod na kon dili ta maapil sa lapida. Kita maoy nagtanom unya di ta maapil sa pagpupo, the governor said.
More when we return, stay tuned for more.

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