longcuts

She was invited to run for vice governor in tandem with governatorial bet Julius Caesar Herrera.
She turned down the offer. She was not interested. She had other things in mind. She had all sorts of alibi. And when it comes to making alibis, she’s a pro.
When she was later on offered the vice governatorial position in tandem with governatorial bet Edgar Chatto, she readily agreed.
In making that decision, one wonders what must have occurred in her mental coconut.
* * *
It is common knowledge that following the betrayal issue, the relationship between Gov. Erico Aumentado and Cong. Edgar Chatto has become strained.
Old wounds are reopened. And when reopened, they heal very, very slowly, if ever.
There was that old issue where during that infamous unification brouhaha, Aumentado lost in Balilihan. Even right in Edgar Chatto’s precinct, Aumentado lost.
He lost to Rene Relampagos.
And it was unthinkable because with the unification, Aumentado was expected to win in Chatto’s territory.
Overall, Aumentado also did not fare very well in the 1st district. It would appear that in many cases, Rene Relampagos enjoyed an edge over Aumentado.
Unthinkable, right? But it happened.
So, what could be the reason for that?
* * *
Close friends and relatives of the governor are convinced that Edgar Chatto did not really support the candidacy of Aumentado. They believe, even until now, that Chatto had a “not-so-secret” alliance with Relampagos and this arrangement explains the very surprising dismal performance of Aumentado in that election, insofar as votes in the 1st district are concerned.
But despite this “betrayal,” Aumentado won. And he maintained diplomatic relations with Edgar Chatto. It seemed everything was forgiven and forgotten.
Naturally, there were gnashing of teeths. I know of one who could have “murdered” Cong. Chatto and some members of the current provincial board every time there was personal encounter.
That was the first “wound.” With the passage of time, that “wound” slowly healed.
* * *
The fateful event that occurred on December 1 of last year during that sham “unity” fiasco virtually reopened the old wound, fresh blood oozed from the first “wound” and there are now renewed calls to strike back and get even.
And very surprisingly, there is now the resurrected tandem of Edgar Chatto and Rene Relampagos.
Rene, the perennial candidate who transfers residences at whim, is now paired with Edgar Chatto as the congressional bet in the 1st district.
Rene is not a Lakas-Kampi-CMD party member. He is with LDP. But forming an “alliance” with Rene did not prove very difficult. Quick and easy, as in “they were back in each other’s arms.”
It was too good to be true.
And there is a surprising “twist” - the tandem that worked against Aumentado before is the same tandem that he shares billings in the political tarps of the admin party.
So don’t be surprised if close supporters, friends and relatives of Aumentado are now very wary of this resurrected duo.
* * *
Now comes Conching Lim.
Everybody knows she’s a close ally of Aumentado.
So how come that when Aumentado invited her to be Herrera’s runningmate, she turned down the offer?
But when Edgar Chatto and Rene Relampagos invited her to be Edgar Chatto’s runningmate, she readily agreed?
I am instantly reminded of the fiction thriller “Sleeping with the Enemy.”
In my lingo, a close friend who sleeps with my enemy is a traitor.
And in that respect, Conching Lim nicely fits the bill.
* * *
In my political crystal ball, I consider Conching Lim’s act as simply a betrayal.
She betrayed her close ally. She betrayed her close friendship with Aumentado. She had no compunction at all when she turned her back on Aumentado.
It seemed a natural thing to do.
And she allied herself now with the “old forces” who connived and conspired against Aumentado.
What does that make her?
* * *
She must have thought she no longer needed Aumentado because she has Edgar Chatto.
Chatto is younger. And he is not vindictive too.
There was a time Kiking Chatto went to Conching Lim to borrow money.
That was the time Kiking Chatto was running for governor.
And what did she do?
Kiking Chatto went home empty-handed.
Because he was rejected, he had to borrow elsewhere.
Edgar Chatto must have known that Conching Lim rejected the pleadings of his father. He must have known how broken-hearted his father was of the rejection. He must have known that there was money, but there was no intention to let his father borrow the money.
And yet, he was kind enough to offer the vice governatorial slot to her.
Edgar Chatto is a good man. And Conching Lim, well, never mind.
* * *
She’s up to no good.
She gathered the barangay captains all over the province, about 400 of them in Manila for their Bohol Congress.
She got them to spend at least P20,000 each. Of course, each one has to have plus or minus P5,000 as personal money, in addition to the P20,000.
Even if the 400 or so participants had only P20,000 pocket money each, how much was the total money drain from that activity last week?
At least 8 million pesos down the drain for that activity alone. Yes, 8 million pesos being spent in Manila.
And what did they do in Manila for that 8 million peso-bill?
They got a lecture on Expanded Juvenile Delinquency Law (RA 9344) and Violence Against Women and Children (RA 9262).
Yes, the lectures were indeed very expensive.
And Liga President Conching Lim had a weird sense of humor too.
She knows that the lecture could very well be done in Bohol, no need to go to Manila.
And if she thought no Boholano lecturer could discuss these topics very brilliantly like DSWD Usec Alicia Bala or Atty. Eduardo Villena did, then she could have invited them to Bohol and made a lot of savings.
But no, she thought the barangay captains would be very happy to make “suroy-suroy” in Subic or Baguio. So, that’s what she did.
After the lecture, where only very few cared to listen, there was a workshop kuno and after that, it was suroy-suroy time.
Some went to Subic, then to Baguio. Others went back to Manila after Subic.
Some others did not bother to go to Subic and opted to while away their time in Makati, Manila or Quezon City.
Obviously, there was plenty of time to “change oil.”
And now, they’re back in Bohol after spending as much as P20,000 in barangay funds for that particular junket.
Oopps, they are required kuno to submit a report on what they learned during the Bohol Congress.
The reportorial requirement, which is nothing but pro forma because nobody will bother to check the report anyway, is made in order to justify the public expenditure.
The DILG will just collect voluminous reports from barangay captains, place them inside a folder, keep it somewhere and forget about it.
Another wastage of bond papers and carbon papers that were purchased using people’s money.
For what learning can they expect in a few hours of lecture that’s usually done in English or Tagalog?
And the fact that the submission of the report is only for purposes of justifying the expense, and the barangay captains were informed about this, then nobody will really care what they submit.
Not the DILG or the barangay captains.
* * *
Anyway, that’s the kind of leadership traits that Conching Lim wants her barangay captains all over the province to emulate.
Useless expense. Useless activity. And using people’s money at that.
We shall have more of this when we return, stay tuned for more!