City says media attacks part of destabilization

By Ruelle Albert D. Castro

The City administration recently dismissed as politically motivated the series of press releases coming out of national newspapers seeking to portray a negative image of the City.
Mayor Dennis Socrates said the press releases were coming from the camp of the former Mayor Edward Hagedorn and that this was part of their attempts to push for a recall election.
“They found out that their move of a recall election couldn’t push through that they had resorted to this approach,” Socrates said.
City legal officer Allen Ross Rodriguez added that the people behind the recall moves are motivated to harass the current administration.
“Obvious na may motivation at may plano silang hindi maganda. Ito ay ang mga taong hindi maka-antay ng 2004,” Rodriguez said.
The series of media report started with the picture of the road along the New Public Market road showing cut trees. The other was a press releases attributed to an NGO called Bantay Palawan Foundation claiming that sea weeds planters in Barangay Tagburos of the mortality of their plants attributed to cyanide toxins.
Rodriguez lambasted the motives of people behind the reports, claiming they are motivated politically to harass the present administration.
Rodriguez said that they have received information that the instigators of the illegal activities are the same people who have aired the complaint.
The Bantay Puerto press release identified Tagburos barangay captain Marcos Zulueta as the one who informed them of the incident. Zulueta however is facing charges from the Department of Environment and Natural resources, Rodriguez claimed.
City Mayor Socrates says that the situation is a case of sensationalism. He said that it is a case of small incident given bigger value. He identified former Mayor Edward Hagedorn to be behind the issue.
“Obviously Mayor Hagedorn is behind it,” he said. “It appears that they realized that their initiative for a recall election couldn’t push through kaya sila nag resort sa ganitong move,” he added.
Meanwhile, Palawan NGO Network Incorporated Executive Director Cleofe Bernardino said she is not aware of the existence of a Bantay Puerto Foundation as an NGO in the City.   ^ Top