Polibiz
A 'haunted' capitol
Anybody interested for a ghost hunting adventure, one doesn't have to wait for the approaching Holy Week (believed to be the best time of year to communicate with spirits) or cruise to Guimaras Island, nor take a long winding trip to the towns of Siquijor, Dueñas or Dumangas (known for their various mythical characters such as aswang, tayho, manughiwit and others) to enjoy the thrill; a short visit to the capitol is more exciting.
Why we Filipinos love to get scared by these unusual underworld phenomena is something I can hardly fathom when I was a kid. What is it in us that we seek for their existence, listen to the endless story-telling from nanay and tatay, from lolo and lola, about the famous Tenyente Guimo, the incredible White Lady from the balete tree, so on and so forth. It becomes a pastime after supper, we glued our ears and sees to it we'll never miss a single word during the narration.
It has been more than a generation when the first man (astronaut Niel Armstrong) landed in the moon back in 1969, yet we are still inclined to believe that the world is still inhabited by ghosts wandering in our midst.
Take the case of the recent accidental (I call it providential intervention) discovery by provincial administrator Manuel "Boy" Mejorada of more than thirty (or was it fifty) ghost employees employed at the office of a bloated man from the capitol.
I think it is something we should really, really be scared of--not much of its horrifying effect but because there was reportedly an attempt to cheat the provincial government's treasury out of the taxpayers' hard earned money. This is an unpardonable act of treachery and something has to be done before it goes out of proportion.
Capitol employees should thank Boy M. for his lone crusade to fight corruption in our midst. Being the provincial administrator, it is his primary duty to protect the interest of the provincial government and its employees. Henceforth, the complaints he filed at the Office of the Ombudsman is a noble act that should be given due recognition and not to despise him.
To some, Boy M is definitely a pain in their neck if not in their ass for keeping the fortress in the capitol solidly strong from outside forces hostile to its number one occupant. Small wonder why they resort to an unholy alliance with Secretary of Injustice as they are obsessed to grab power from Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr.
Since the cat has finally been out of the bag, expect other skeletons to come out from the closet. Each has his own story to tell. The name of the game is survival of the fittest.
Just think about it, the aromatic smell of politics is already in the air.
Is it by mere coincidence former congressmen Augusto "Boboy" Syjuco and Oscar "Oca" Garin made headlines when the two almost punch each other at the famous Tatoy's Manokan and Restaurant? When all the 2nd district incumbent mayors challenged Boboy Syjuco for the full accounting of all the projects implemented in the past - was it also a coincidence? What about the gun-totting act of Oca to a former rebel returnee? And the most recent, the denial of the ghost employees employed by a bloated man? All these stories landed in front pages, were all these by mere coincidence?
This is a clear sign, politics in Iloilo is alive and kicking.
But the ghost employees issue is not about to die yet. In fact it is just a tip of an iceberg.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has tasked a committee to probe the allegations on the existence of the ghost employees; promised no stone unturned to expose a can of worms. Their mission is to unmask the culprits at all cost and have them severely punished for their acts.
If by chance one visits an office and gets entertained by a headless employee, I advise you not to panic. Go, get the help of the committee tasked to investigate instead of going to the National Statistic Office (NSO) in search for ghost employees.
Tell them, the capitol is "haunted."