Some people do not deserve power. As George Bernard Shaw once commented, power does not corrupt men; but fools, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power. There is nothing wrong about being mayor of a town. In fairness to many town executives who work hard to improve the lives of their constituents, the position allows a lot of opportunities to make a difference.

Panglao Mayor Doloreich Dumaluan however seems to be engrossed with putting premium on power and how to flaunt it. Not too long ago, he got into the news when he built a three-storey building in his resort without the required environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and a certification from the Panglao Island Tourism Estate (PITE) Review and Development Committee. As it turned out, Dumaluan casually claimed he had been issued an ECC and simply refused to recognize the PITE. As simple as that. It turned out that the controversial three-storey building was never issued an ECC, but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources did not seem interested to implement the law.

Obviously emboldened by the helplessness of government agencies to implement the law and impose penalties including those against two structures that violated the Water Code of the Philippines , Dumaluan now ups the ante even more. The dive shop that encroached on the 20-meter salvage zone was demolished to give way to an expansion of the controversial structure. Not content with violating the requirements on the ECC by the DENR, he now proceeds to violate the restrictions on the 20-meter salvage zone.

As this is going on, he has also casually undervalued the construction. Although it was already estimated to be worth P20-million at the start, the building was declared to be worth “only” P5-M. The issue here is not so much that Dumaluan has gotten used to controversies. Rather, it is the message that it pays to be mayor because one can violate the law and get away with it.

If it had been an ordinary citizen or even a mere councilor, the law would have been applied - and firmly. Two Dumaluan critics in the municipal council found that out when the mayor himself presided over the closure of their resorts owing to violations assessed against them. Dumaluan can raise a howl or even file a libel case but the fact remains that he has not only been violating laws but has in fact been getting away with it. What are we in power for anyway?