A move by a city councilor to call the attention of the Sangguniang Bayan leadership regarding the assignment of bodyguards to his bitter enemy failed to take off after a fair haired boy of City Mayor Dan Neri Lim came to the rescue. As observed from the actuation of Kagawad Edgar Kapirig, it was clear that he wanted to make a big deal out of the bodyguards issue. He lamented the fact that bodyguards were assigned to businessman Mario Uy, appointed as deputy mayor by Lim. But even before the city councilor's tirade was exposed to the full sunlight of SP scrutiny, Kag. Bantugan using his superiority of the king's language, shot down whatever was left of Kapirig's perorations. Like a motivated desk sergeant, Bantugan, one of mayor's Lim's faithful acolytes, interrogated Kapirig at every turn of his barbs zeroing in on the veracity of Kapirig's allegations. At one point, he even threatened Kapirig to strike off the records of the SP any statement that borders on the personal.

Bantugan was reacting to the statement of Kapirig that on a personal level, a free discussion of an issue should not be allowed in the halls of the SP. The city councilor warned Kapirig to be circumspect regarding this matter “because in the first place, the matter is private between them” (Uy and Kapirig). Uy and Kapirig were locked in a legal tussle resulting in the former filing a P10 million slander suit against the city alderman. It was apparent that Bantugan viewed Kapirig's question about Uy's bodyguards as “personal matter between the two”. Showing his utter bias to the deputy mayor, Bantugan went to the extent of justifying the deployment of bodyguards to the city businessman.

The city kagawad said if indeed Uy was a recipient of death threats it was just prudent on his part to be detailed with bodyguards. The city councilor further argued that even if Uy's designation as deputy mayor was only an honorary title still he was entitled to the protection of the police. Kapirig called the attention of the SP regarding the detail of policemen as bodyguards of Uy. The kagawad's commentary of Uy's VIP treatment provoked the torrid exchange between Bantugan and City Councilor Leonides Borja on one hand and Kapirig on the other. Kapirig's question ended in a compromise with the SP agreeing to invite the city police chief to shed light on allegations that the city Philippine National Police provided bodyguards to Uy.