The people of Davao City, through Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, donated P18.5 million for the earthquake victims of Bohol and Cebu provinces in answer to a call from this column Saturday.
Duterte, who used his city’s helicopter, delivered the cash donation himself to the mayors of the affected towns in Bohol on Sunday, and on Monday to the mayors of the Cebu towns hit hard by the tremor.
All the mayors of the affected towns received P500,000 each.
The exception was Mayor Leoncio Evasco of Maribojoc, Bohol, who was given P1 million because he was once Duterte’s chief of staff.
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Mayor Evasco is trying to copy Duterte’s tough-guy image, but he’s a very poor imitation.
His former master—“amo” in Tagalog and Visayan—is rough on hardened criminals but very gentle to law-abiding citizens, especially to people who help his constituents.
Evasco is so unlike Duterte in treating visitors of Maribojoc, visitors who wanted help ease the suffering of his constituents.
Evasco drove away from his town Red Cross volunteers who were distributing relief goods, saying he would handle the distribution himself.
The mayor probably wanted to put his name on the Red Cross relief goods, for the markings to read: “Donated by your good mayor, Leoncio Evasco, for voting me into office. Vote for me again in the next election so you will have more of this.”
With simple-minded folk for his constituents, who would not believe him if he said he owned the goods handed out to them?
With the free ride on the Red Cross goodies, Evasco will be able to freely spend the P1 million he received from his former boss.
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Since the Supreme Court is trying to find the identity of Arlene L. who reportedly influences decisions in the lower courts, it should also look into the activities of Albert T. at the Court of Appeals (CA).
Mr. “T,” who looks like a Chinese mestizo, goes in and out of the chambers of some CA justices and is always seen on the corridors of the appellate court building.
When he enters the CA building, all the guards salute Mr. “T” who, according to my CA sources, is a lawyer.
Mr. “T” reportedly meets with some CA justices in the function rooms of restaurants in first class hotels or in hotel rooms, my CA sources say.
One wonders what they talk about inside those hotel rooms.
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A Canadian national, who’s on the “most wanted” list of the US Department of Homeland Security, is enjoying the good life in the Philippines.
Calvin Edward Ayre, also known as Calvin Wilson, who was once featured in Forbes magazine as a billionaire, is wanted for money laundering through online gambling.
Despite the resources of the US government, Ayre remains scot-free because he allegedly enjoys protection from some people at the Bureau of Immigration.