Cong. Edgar Chatto wondered loudly yesterday why his name was unnecessarily dragged in a controversy involving the Municipal Local Government Officer of Maribojoc. Feigning ignorance, the first district solon expressed innocence why he was tagged as having lobbied for the transfer of Maribojoc MLGOO Victor “Jovy “Lapiz to Corella from his Maribojoc assignment. The congressman made the reaction yesterday during a radio program his office sponsored over Station DYTR. It was Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Jr. who blew the whistle on the congressman's alleged representation with Speaker Prosper Nograles of Davao regarding Lapiz' transfer to Corella.

Mayor Evasco also linked the name of Board Member Jose Veloso as having connived with Chatto to transfer Lapiz from his present assignment. According to the mayor, the MLGOO's only sin was that he campaigned for no vote-buying in the municipality in the coming election. Vouching for the DILG officer's integrity, Mayor Evasco said he found nothing wrong in Lapiz campaign activity, because for one, he was also for the eradication of vote buying during elections. According to Cong. Chatto, he would have kept his silence about the transfer furor because anything that cropped out during the election season was always tainted with political color.

But he said he cannot afford to keep his mouth shut let alone if the insinuation has no basis in truth and in fact. The Noglares factor came into the picture after it was revealed by Evasco that the Davao solon has no love lost with him after he was defeated for two times in the Davao city mayoralty against his mentor City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. In that Nograles defeat, Evasco was Duterte's campaign manager. Veloso's name also cropped up in the Maribojoc furor on the basis of his candidacy as Evasco's mayoralty opponent. In another radio interview, Veloso also denied participation in whatever manner to transfer the DILG officer.