QC politics: Vice Mayor Belmonte rues rift with Mayor Bautista

MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday revealed her feud with Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and said she tried to reach out to the top city official.

“Ang masakit dun, I keep reaching out to him kasi nakakaawa naman yung lungsod kung di kami magkakasundo, I reached out to him pero di na niya ako nakakausap,” she said in an interview with Inquirer.

(I pity the city if we cannot get along. I reached out to him,  but he no longer talks to me.)

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. Photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net

Belmonte confessed that Bautista treated her like a “rubber stamp” since some projects were  implemented without consulting her or minus her knowledge.

“Kung lump sum siya for infrastructure, kailangan niya ng authority to enter into contract, need niya pumirma. Dapat i-re-review namin yung contract kasi dapat advantageous to the city,” she said.

(If it’s a lump sum for infrastructure, he needs authority to enter into a contract, he needs to sign. We need to review the contract which must be advantageous to the city.)

“Hindi dumadaan sa amin. Tapos na yung project namin tapos ibibigay niya sa amin na iratify na lang nila ito,”

(We did not see the contract.  The project has been completed, and then he wants us to ratify it.)

“In other words, I take my job as checks and balances of the city more seriously, tingin niya dapat rubber stamp ka lang parang sumunod ka lang,” she added.

(I take my task of ensuring checks and balances seriously, but he thinks we need to be a rubber stamp, that you just need to follow.)

Belmonte said he had a good working relationship with Bautista for three years.

“Nung unang three years okay naman, dahil marami siyang binigay na role dahil anti poverty ako anti-poverty advocate ako, binigay niya yan sa akin. ‘Yung department of tourism binigay niya sa akin,” Belmonte said.

(For three years, we had a good working relationship, he asked me to handle anti-poverty and tourism projects.)

When they both won a second term, Belmonte said that Bautista started keeping her off such tasks.

“But then, unti-unti nung second term tinanggal na niya,” she added. / gsg