Photo courtesy: PTV
I have been wondering why Bicol Partylist Representative Terry Ridon has incessantly attacked former President Rodrigo Duterte over what he claimed were ghost and substandard flood control projects in Davao City. He has been like a squeaking female eagle his exocrine glands, some nitizens noticed, appeared to be afflicted in the process although I think its natural for one who talks a lot to develop the mandible muscles.
His tirade against the Dutertes is quite odd. I doubt very much whether he has stepped in the soil of Davao City. I don’t know him since Adam
and since am intrigued why Duterte has become his fetish, I made a quick background check who Ridon is. From friends and allies of Duterte, I learned that he was appointed as Chairman of the Presidential Commission for Urban Poor. His stint was short as he was fired by the President Duterte for traveling more often abroad than meeting with the PCUP members. As his defense Ridon explained that all his travels had Malacanang’s approval. Maybe, but that is not what Duterte expects…as he wanted an output from PCUP to alleviate the plight of the urban poor.
No wonder Ridon has been gnashing his mandible to get back at his penchant -former President Duterte and his children. He now leads the phalanx of congressmen, among them ACT Teachers partylists representatives who, like him, have an axe to grind against the Dutertes. They have come together to denounce what they alleged were ghost and substandard flood control projects in the city.
The Independent Commission on Infrastructures did their bidding and amidst the diluvial floods in Cebu that, like Bulacan, Mindoro and the Ilocos region that wrecked substandard flood control projects, the ICI instead flew to Davao City to probe into what Ridon and associates said are either ghosts, substandard or incomplete.
Either we have to thank Ridon or call him and his colleagues prevaricators for the ICI found out that all the projects that they suspected were ghosts or incomplete were in fact existing, built to specification, had withstood time and floods and 100 percent complete.
To save face, Ridon attempted one more tomfoolery to implicate the Dutertes in the scandalous ghost and incomplete flood control projects. He contrived a convoluted geographic presentation where he made netizens believed that Davao Occidental, where ghost flood control projects were unearthed by DPWH invetigating team led by Sec Vince Dizon, is within the political sphere of Davao City. What an absurdity. Davao Occidental is far down south bordered by Davao del Sur and Saranggani province.
I want to conclude this piece by quoting Atty. Claire Castro who cannot hide the truth behind Rep. Terry Ridon’s lie, thus: “Kaya walang nakitang sirang Flood Control sa Davao kasi wala pang baha. Dapat bahain para malaman ng mga nag-iimbestiga.”
Call that a slip of the tongue, but it speaks of the truth. For Davao City in fact experienced floods but because the flood control infrastructures which later were constructed withstood and continue to withstand the impact of floods the city is spared from the catastrophy that we saw in Bulacan, Mindoro, Ilocos region and Cebu.
