Golez’ misreading-3

When I heard and later read that Bácolod Cong. Anthony Golez had delivered a privilege speech on May 8 on the June 18 Charter Day celebration and that he had asked Congress to conduct an inquiry, I thought that the subject would be why the city shifted the commemoration of the birth of the city and the expenses involved, but it turned out he wants Congress to investigate the Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Ricardo Ramon Roque.

Why should Roque be investigated? Golez in his speech said, “Mr. Roque is not God. He is not even authorized to officially issue whether laws have been modified or repealed. He has shown that this relationship with a mayor can influence him from doing an act that is beyond his jurisdiction. His action in issuing a certification that is outside his duties is a clear indication that he can be influenced. For this, he has shown that he is not fit to be the deputy secretary general.”

This is a terrible accusation but I believe that this inquiry will result to nothing. Roque’s letter to Mayor Evelio Leonardia of June 20, 2011 is only a transmittal of the certified true copy of Act 326 which created the City of Bacolod. It is not even a certification that the copy is a faithful reproduction of the Act because that was done by the archival staff.

What is wrong with that, unless Roque cannot send transmittal letters, has nothing to do with the House archive and not authorized to secure a copy of a public document there? Are these not part of the House administrative functions?

Golez was reading into a mere transmittal letter matters that were not there. Why is he so obsessed to stop the celebration of June 18 to commemorate the day that President Manuel Quezon signed Act 326? Is this his opening salvo for his candidacy for mayor of Bácolod? If so, he chose a wrong issue because the issue of the date that Bácolod became a city is based on documentary evidence.

Yesterday I pointed out that there are many errors that need to be corrected in our history. Just an example: ask anybody you meet to tell us what is meant by Magsungay. Chances are they will tell you what many through the years have thought to be the right meaning, that it means the horn of a carabao or an animal.

But that is not correct and entirely irrelevant to the barangay.

I was watching a television show about Binalbagan and the tourism officer of the town said that the town was founded in 1572 and that the name was taken from a big snake that lay across the Binalbagan Bridge. That is, in fact, an official belief so that town depicts the snake in their street dancing.

However, since the bridge was constructed only in 1926, how in the world could the town be so named in 1572, almost 400 years earlier?

I told Binalbagan officials that the snake had nothing to with their name, but they persist to revel in their error.

This is the same with Golez and several others who, for whatever reason, insist that the Charter Day of Bácolod is in October, ignoring the fact that the Charter was signed on June 18, 1938. Worse is that Golez and company are claiming that this Charter says that the law will take effect on October 19, 1939.

They are reading sentences that do not exist in the law, as Golez is reading in the Roque letter of transmittal. In fact, October 19 was not the intended inauguration day. But that is for another column.

Golez was again not forthright or perhaps he was just confused when he claimed “Last year I was vocal in Bacolod City about spending funds on two fiestas – one in June and another in October.” He repeated this same statement in his speech when he said “The seemingly invincible people behind the local government of Bacolod City with their celebrations spending public funds on two fiestas - one in June and another in October.”

At the last portion of his speech he addressed “my colleagues, my countrymen, my beloved Bacolodnons…let us not be fooled and be led to waste money on celebrations of two fiestas.”

But who is fooling whom? He knew, or ought to know that we only had one Charter Day celebration on June 18 last year but none in October because what was held was the MassKara Festival.

I wonder why he kept on repeating this falsehood. Is he being honest or has he gone down in sacrificing the truth in the altar of political expediency?

There is precedence in our history where we changed dates of celebration like our Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. Need I cite more?*

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