Dr. Jeremiah Obañana
The chief of Sara District Hospital Dr. Jeremiah Obañana must be bothered by his conscience by now. The autoclave machine to be delivered by the provincial government's preferred bidder Gerden Pharma Lab & Co. Inc. costs P641,838, much higher to the price of the autoclave machine offered by BD Medica which is only P580,800. BD Medica actually was the lowest bidder but in an unexpected turn of events the contract was awarded to Gerden Pharma. In the abstract of bids the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) then chaired by Ramie Salcedo found BD Medica's eligibility sufficient, but later it was declared disqualified. This inconsistency on the part of the BAC led BD Medica to question the awarding of the contract to Gerden and to eventually bring the case to the attention of the Ombudsman. By the way, how true is the rumor that the owner of Gerden is a constant companion of the First Lady in mahjong sessions?
P're Mansing tirades
In an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo the other day ex-Mayor Mansing called Mayor Jerry a coward (talawit). P're Mansing said Mayor Jerry is afraid to get out of DOJ Sec. Raul's group because he also has skeletons in his closet. He particularly cited the still unresolved P130 million socialized housing project in Pavia, Iloilo. P're Mansing also scored Jerry for demolishing the old city hall but not starting its construction until now. P're Mansing also disclosed that a lot of barangay captains in the city are getting enough of the abuses of DOJ Sec. Raul and are planning to desert Raul's camp in the coming days. The former mayor said he will run either for mayor or congressman next year. He also said that he is not afraid of the retiring DOJ chief. Indeed, the election fever is here.
Queen City
In various occasions we always hear our officials promising to high heavens to work hard for the city to regain the title “Queen City of the South” now being held by Cebu City. We should stop dreaming. Basing on the present scenario of the city it is very impossible that we can overtake Cebu or Davao cities. We have problems on power and water supply. We are hit by floods every year. Our officials have no political will. Our peace and order situation is deteriorating (hold-ups, snatching, robberies and other petty crimes happen here and there). Our politicians think only of their personal interests. Are these characteristics that of a Queen City?