What was earlier billed as a friendly debate between two bitter political enemies was marred by hostile exchanges bordering even on ugly name-calling as Cong. Rene Relampagos and City Mayor Dan Neri Lim squared off in Tubigon town last Friday. The square off was the opening salvo dubbed as Candidates Forum sponsored by the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry pitting two congressional rivals for Bohol’s first district. Lim, true to his outspoken nature, interrupted Relampagos when he sensed that the time allotted exceeded the five minute limit. Per debate rules, a warning bell was sounded during the time allotted to each protagonist and he was given 30 seconds to wind down with the second buzzer. Calling the attention of the moderator, Lim said it was not fair and square for the congressman to go beyond the allowable time allocation.

The interruption was the first flare up of hostilities as the protagonists tried their damned best to conduct the tit-for-tat in a high plane. Taking turns in both the offensive and defensive stances, there were times that Relampagos took Lim to task especially in matters involving the management of city hall affairs. According to the first district lawmaker, the people of Tagbilaran need not look this far, how the city is mismanaged especially with regards its worsening road condition. This was coupled with the sorry state of the city’s waterworks system, he added. But Lim retaliated by calling the attention of the congressman regarding the sale of Bohol’s two public utilities during his incumbency as Bohol governor in 2000. Hinting of a shady deal that attended the sale of the Provincial Public Utilities Department (PPUD), Lim questioned the purchase by a private consortium adding that it was tainted with anomaly. The city mayor zeroed in on the alleged “confidential clause” in the sale of the water and power utilities to the Salcon Group.

AT HIS ELEMENT

Showing to the Tubigon audience that he was on top of the situation, Cong. Relampagos was visibly at his element when confronted with the issue of the privatization of the public utilities. According to Relampagos since time immemorial, Tagbilaran was in perpetual agony of having to contend with an erratic power and water supply. Not until he decided to privatize the utilities that the perennial water and power problem was solved, Relampagos said. In fact, he said, proof that even the city was sold to the idea of having the utilities handled by private hands did city hall has avail of its power and water services 24/7 as delivered by its present utility provider.

ANOTHER FLASHPOINT

One flashpoint that the two rivals were at loggerheads was the issue on tourism strategy. According to the lawmaker, as mandated in his mission and vision when he was elected governor in 1995, he succeeded in making Bohol as a prime-eco-tourism destination, a feat now being enjoyed by the present Capitol occupants. He even boasted that as a first termer solon, he earned the refutation of having caused the release of P1.9 billion to improve major arteries in the district including roads leading to tourism areas. But the combative mayor appeared to disagree the congressman’s supposed thrust in tourism development. While Cong. Relampagos was profuse in his litany of so-called multiplier effects like job creation and livelihood opportunities as Bohol develops a sustainable tourism, Mayor Lim appeared opposed to the legislator’s line of thinking. Lim said what he has in mind for tourism to realize its full potentials is to create the so-called Bohol Tourism Authority, a body which is not beholden to the governor or congressman. Still on tourism, the feisty city mayor took offense of the Capitol’s plan to construct an airport in Panglao. Lim recalled that as long as 25 years, the airport plan is always highlighted by Capitol planners as already up for implementation only to learn later that it was only good at “launching and groundbreaking”. Of which Cong. Relampagos blurted that as for the ambitious airport project, he was happy to inform Mayor Lim, it is up for construction in November this year.

HYPOCRITE

Another irritant that drove the goat of Mayor Lim was the statement of Cong. Relampagos calling his adversary as “my friend”. “Why addressed me as my friend?”, Mayor Lim balked. He went on that calling him a friend was hypocrisy. The “my friend” address was in reference to Relampagos calling the mayor as such in an opening statement of one of the questions raised by the moderator lawyer Lucas Nunag, vice president of the BCCI. The hypocrite tag that followed the “my friend” repartee, came after Relampagos rattled off the failure of the Lim administration saying that for nine years he did nothing to pursue its promise of constructing the “Big Bug”, sanitary landfill and water treatment plant.

HEALTH CARE

On health care, Mayor Lim took exception to the congressman’s potshots of Tagbilaran having no ambulance. Mayor Lim said the reason why the city has no ambulance was that he doesn’t want to compete with existing hospitals. However, he said if given the chance to be elected congressman along with Carmen Mayor Che Toribio de los Reyes for governor, one of their priority projects is the Blue Card which they planned to fan out in every nook and cranny of the district and the entire province of Bohol. Blue Card is a program of city hall designed to deliver free health services to constituents. Quoting a famous Latin maxim “res ipsa loquitor” (the thing speaks for itself), Mayor Lim said what he did in Tagbilaran will be replicated in the first district like what he said as the “principle of good governance”. For his part, health care was part of the congressman’s thrust with the acronym GOOD HEALTH. He spelled out the HEALTH as H for health, E for education, A for agriculture, T for Tourism, and H for human resources and development.

Health is on the congressman’s priority agenda because he believes in the dictum, a sound mind, is a sound body. This explained why he supported the Sin Tax Bill because not only that it will curb the incidence of drinking and smoking, the increased tax will also be used in funding medical facilities in hospitals. He also proposed to institutionalize his flagship health project the “Botika sa Barangay. If given the chance to pass through Congress, Cong. Relampagos is planning to sponsor a bill making the “botika” a nationwide project. Part of the Tubigon debate was for the mayoralty candidates in the town to say their respective pieces. However, of reasons only known to the opponent of Tubigon Mayor William Jao, the incumbent has his hands full summarizing his own accomplishments as first termer mayor in the field of health care, agriculture, tourism, livelihood opportunities, among others. Loy Palapos was the master of ceremonies of the Tubigon talking event.