Sons of influence

Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez was scheduled to yield his son Joavan to the Talisay City police who have, unsurprisingly, through the years managed to be two steps slower than the controversial adopted troublemaker.

Be that as it may unless Joavan is jailed preferably in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City or somewhere his father’s influence is gone, Talisay City residents will have to continue to bear with his insufferable behavior especially if his father is elected to the Talisay City Council anew.

That doesn’t seem to be the problem with Ledegreco “Greco” Sanchez who was arrested by police last week at his home in Cebu City. Sanchez, who was accused by his sister Provincial Board (PB) candidate Gigi Sanchez-Zaballero of harassing her, her family and their employees at their Tuburan factory, didn’t put up much of a fight and was jailed along with a male companion.

Greco Sanchez is said to be a “Johnny come lately” insofar as drug abuse is concerned and unlike Joavan had yet to incur a litany of cases that involve brushes with the police and ordinary folk.

Still, it tells us how fast troublemakers can land in jail if it’s their family that makes the painful decision to have him or her committed. That’s what happened to Greco but we still wonder if he would have landed in jail if the father, the late vice governor Greg Sanchez, was still alive and in office.

We also wonder if Joavan would have landed in jail or been committed to rehabilitation faster if he crossed the line and attacked his own adopted father and mother.

He certainly cannot do that since his father is still in power and enjoys the patronage of his benefactor, Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu’s 1st district. But with the drugs and alcohol that have addled his brain for so long, it’s perhaps only a matter of time for Joavan to do the unthinkable.

The likelihood of that happening may increase especially if his father lost in the elections which, unfortunately may be unlikely again due to the political machinery of his benefactor.

But with the mayor having failed both as a parent and as a city official in cracking the whip on his adopted son, rumblings from within the city not to vote for Mayor Socrates Fernandez cannot be ignored even if they are somewhat muted by Joavan’s “patrols” and threats of physical violence.

Greco got what was coming to him while Joavan continues to make a mockery of both his father and the Talisay City police. Even while waiting for Gullas to assume as mayor, Joavan should be caught, jailed and subjected to rehabilitation if only to keep him away from the general populace.

Greco knows for now that the law and the police cannot be trifled with and that lesson should be driven home hard and pointblank to Joavan. Enough of his troublemaking ways, he should be kept in jail.