Even as the harshest of his critics are still at it because they need nothing more than his head to roll, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, in the vortex of a vicious assault in his stormy public career, confirmed that he finally weathered the storm that almost cost his political balance. Left and right, Mayor Lim parried all sorts of verbal attacks led by the twin media powerhouse of the Bohol Chronicle and Station DYRD. The media outfits made no bones of Lim’s alleged “striptease act” inside the passenger cabin of the commercial airliner Zest Air. In You Tube, the airline episode featuring Lim became an overnight sensation as his critics uploaded with impunity the offending video clip. But all this was all media hype signifying nothing as far as Lim was concerned. The combative city mayor, with the finesse of a seasoned politician, dismissed all the charges as pure fiction and the product of the fertile imagination of an airline stewardees who claimed to have seen the mayor showing his genitals. What shot down the flight stewardees’ claims of an indecent actuation of the city mayor was the fact that until now no charges had yet been filed despite earlier reports that she was bent on filing charges of sexual harassment and unjust vexation. But all these threats of criminal cases feed by media and their cohorts turned out to be nothing but an elaborate demolition job dedicated to the proposition that Mayor Lim was a “poster boy of bad governance”. But the city mayor knew better than any of those “who profess that they are holier than the pope”. For Lim, his critics who appear on the surface as if they are “candidates for sainthood”, are also known to have “skeletons in their closets”.

In a surprise announcement that will surely prick the pride and bravado of his detractors, Mayor Lim confirmed that the alleged stripping incident inside a Zest Air plane last week has been settled internally. Lim has categorically denied the allegations made by flight attendant Camille Rose Diaz and initially threatened to take legal action not only against the crew members but also against the airlines. “I never stripped in front of the crew and certainly not before the passengers,” he declared. The mayor said that contrary to what his critics and opponents make it appear, there has been no expression of outrage from even a single passenger of the plane over a supposedly scandalous incident. Lim admitted he already prepared his complaint which he intended to file on Monday but this was overtaken by events. Mediation efforts by parties close to both the mayor and the airline management managed to pacify Lim in an out-of-court settlement. The mayor declined to identify the people involved who worked to bring both him and the management to sit down and settle but confirmed that they are “very influential in my life”. He refused to elaborate on this. As part of the settlement, the city government and the airline management agreed to conduct joint relief operations in Iligan City.

“My honor has been damaged beyond repair but I also recognize that people commit mistakes so I have accepted the apology of the airline management in behalf of the flight attendant who made the allegation,” he added. The mayor appealed to his supporters to follow his example by putting the unfortunate incident behind and channeling their energy and attention to the more urgent task of contributing to the relief operations. “Filing a case will not bring back the reputation that was damaged because of these irresponsible allegations,” he added. The mayor said a court decision may uphold him but the final arbiter will be the bar of public opinion. “It is now up to the individual judgment of my constituents and friends whether to believe my innocence or not,” he added. Lim said that this crisis showed him the three kinds of friends he has. “First, there are those who categorically refused to believe the story even before they heard my version,” he added.

The mayor said these are friends who knew him well enough to know that the incident as alleged was just not possible and could not have taken place. “These are my all-weather friends,” he noted. Second, Lim said there were friends who were initially inclined to believe the story but were relieved after they heard his explanation. “These are friends who are with me only when I am right but will turn against me when I do wrong,” he added. Finally, the mayor said there are people “who were never really my friends”. “At the first sign of danger, they completely abandoned me and left me to the mercy of my enemies,” he noted. Lim said these types of people only befriend him because they want something from him. “I have no need for opportunists like them so they can spread the rumors around but I will not be bothered,” he added. At the same time, the mayor made it clear that he will go after all those who exploited the issue for their personal interest. “Don’t worry. When I am finished with the more urgent matters, I will get back to you,” Lim warned.

LET THE ‘OPPORTUNISTS’ BEWARE

While he has agreed to bury the hatchet with his accuser, Mayor Lim is not about to let his critics and rivals walk away without accountability. “I will go hard after all the people who exploited my case for their own selfish ends,” the mayor declared. He particularly singled out media critics who twisted and exaggerated the story to make him look “very bad” to the people. “I do not want to dwell further on the flight attendant who made the baseless allegation because a settlement is already in place,” Lim added. However, the mayor said he will finish the fight with all those who went out of their way to embarrass him. “It is one thing to report the incident factually. It is another thing when you exaggerate your report and make conclusions that are intended to put me in a very bad light,” he added. Lim refused to name names when interviewed saying “you (media) will naturally protect each other.” The mayor, however, put it on record that he is not going after the reporters and journalists who made a factual report. “They had no malice and reported the incident according to their appreciation of the facts,” he noted. In contrast, the mayor said “people masquerading as journalists” reported the incident according to the slant that they want. “If they think that they fooled the people, they are wrong,” he added.

Lim said that after the initial shock, people saw things in the proper perspective and realized that there was nothing wrong in what he did. “People particularly diabetics and senior citizens commiserated with me because they understand how it feels to be inconvenienced when nature calls,” he added. At the same time, the mayor said many people he did not know either called him up, texted him or simply relayed the message to him through emissaries that they did not believe the story. “Instead of fury and judgment, people are expressing sympathy and even support for my cause to call attention to the plight of diabetics and people with special medical concerns,” he added. The mayor said that for every unfortunate incident, people have a choice whether to react positively or negatively. “I prefer that something positive will come out of this primarily by calling attention to the plight of people with special medical requirements preferably by a protocol for this purpose,” he added. Lim also proposed a joint medical mission between the city of Tagbilaran and Zest Air to help typhoon victims in Iligan City.