THE LOCAL government has accused Councilman Khymer Olaso of spreading fake information after claiming that City Hall did not fly the Philippine flag at half-mast when Councilman Crisanto dela Cruz died last year.
Olaso, a member of Team Lobregat, wrote on his Facebook page: “When the late monsi passed away, I remember the flag at city hall was not flown half mast (sic)…I even make (sic) a comment at our city secretary that time…but why now with due respect one of the head office passed away the flag was in half mast? This is what I don’t really like akel apiki lang na pogon among lang kel ta puede saka benepisyo.”
He was referring to Dela Cruz, a former priest who ran and won under Climaco’s political team in the 2019 election. Dela Cruz died from a heart attack on April 7, 2021. Olaso’s statement came after a senior City Hall official, Engineer Rodrigo Sicat, passed away on March 29 due to a lingering illness.
 |
| A 2019 photo from the Facebook page of the late Councilman Crisanto ‘Monsi’ dela Cruz shows him with Mayor Beng Climaco and other members of the Team Climaco. Dela Cruz ran and won under Team Climaco in the 2019 elections. |
Mayor Beng Climaco, who is now running for congresswoman in District 1, actually issued Executive Order 648-202 and ordered the national flag to fly at half-mast in memory of Dela Cruz. She even condoled with the family of Dela Cruz.
The City Government branded Olaso’s statement as “malicious” and strongly condemned it.
“We strongly condemn the fake information posted by Councilor Khymer Olaso regarding his malicious statement that the City Government of Zamboanga exhibited biased action in honoring City Officials who pass away. We remind the public to be more discerning of information obtained on social media, as some of these are meant to misinform the public and put the LGU and the current administration in a bad light as the local campaign period already began (sic). The post reeks of insensitivity of the concerned official as the LGU mourns the demise of City Planning and Development Coordinator Engr Rodrigo "Jojo" Sicat,” a statement released by the local government said.
“We would like to inform the public that an
Executive Order was also issued by the Mayor directing the Philippine flag at
City Hall to be flown at half mast (sic) during the day of the internment of
the late Councilor Monsi Cris Dela Cruz. It is sad to note that a person who
has long been gone is being dragged into this issue by Councilor Olaso just for
him to gain political mileage,” it added. (Zamboanga Post)
No comments:
Post a Comment