Zamboangueños condemn black propaganda

SUPPORTERS OF Mayor Beng Climaco, now running as congresswoman in District 1, condemned the continued black propaganda and the spread of fake news against her ahead of the May election.

They blamed Climaco’s political foes for spreading black propaganda in social media and during their political campaign in different barangays where they renewed vicious political and personal attacks and accused the local government of purchasing overpriced rice at the height of the pandemic.

Zamboangueños condemned the black propaganda after Climaco lambasted those behind the spread of the fake news during her recent campaign rally in Barangay Pasonanca. Climaco also challenged those who accused her to come forward and tell her face-to-face and produce evidence or shut up.

Climaco’s brave and emotional statement during the rally was uploaded to her Facebook page and it quickly went viral and earned hundreds of “heart” and “thumb up” emojis. The video post also came with the mayor’s statement: “El verdad libra canaton todo. Barely 30 days to go before the elections, it is no surprise that other camps are back again in their usual ways of perpetrating black propaganda and disinformation against us which they have done too in the past. We are again witnessing an avalanche of malicious claims and baseless accusations that aims to sow distrust among our people and annihilate the truth.” 

“We say, enough! Our people deserve the truth and they deserve better. This election will define the future of our City and of our people and we should not let it rest in the hands of those who are purveyors of fake news and disinformation. The discourse in this campaign should rise above dirty politics. It should be about our people's aspirations, hopes and dreams, and how we can offer un Nuevo Vida, lleno de esperanza, seguridad y prosperidad para na todo!” she said. 

Climaco, who is on her third and final term, is leading way ahead against Team Lobregat and Team Dalipe’s congressional bets in most of Zamboanga’s 98 barangays, and so are all her candidates in both Districts 1 and 2. The mayor said residents were telling her the black propaganda, lies and fake news her foes were spreading. 

In her previous Sunday Reflection piece, Climaco wrote: “I heard grumblings by (my) opponents, who look at opportunities to tarnish the work we have done to serve our people. Lies and accusations being thrown at me to diminish my dignity as a woman and as a person. They have recruited men to demolish and destroy me. Even my husband (Trifonio Salazar), a soldier (retired and decorated Major General and former Director-General of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency) who put his life in grave risks to protect our people, was not spared. Unfortunately, even if they do not know the person, the condemnation is made even if it is false.”

“I was so busy addressing the Covid pandemic when we had the different surges from Alpha, Delta to Omicron that I couldn’t answer the negative and false messages. Hasta ya queda mas malo el maga mensaje de negativismo y mentira. I chose to ignore these fake messages because I do not want to give the opponents room to increase their mileage,” she added.  

This was also confirmed by several of Climaco’s aides telling the Zamboanga Post that even residents are now defending the mayor from black propaganda, and helping campaign for her and the Team Climaco.  

“Hay, Madre de Dios, esos maga gente que no hay cosa hace, todo ya lang mentiras y fake news poreso el maga gente todo el suporta con Mayor Beng. Si Mayor mucho ya hace para na maga pobre, na maga senior citizens o los demas. Mucho accomplishment si Mayor Beng pero esos maga los demas ta corre ahora no hay y puro lang esos boca, aire por eso todo black propaganda ta hace,” one of the mayor’s aides said.  

Ironically, those who are accusing Climaco of corruption are strongly supporting and campaigning for presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos, son of former dictator and plunderer President Ferdinand Marcos Sr, whose family was deposed in 1986 following a bloodless people power revolution. 

Some of Climaco’s political advisers also raised the same questions and asked “how can those who are accusing Mayor Beng of corruption strongly support Bongbong Marcos whose family plundered the country and even up to now has not returned their ill-gotten wealth, and that is on top of the human rights violations committed under the Marcos’ regime?” 

Even the Philippine government’s Official Gazette contains a special feature on Marcos – “The Fall of the Dictatorship” – which can be accessed in this URL: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-fall-of-the-dictatorship/.

According to the Philippines’ Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, on July 15, 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that over P25 billion worth of Marcos assets were considered ill-gotten wealth. This followed a near two-decade legal struggle between the Philippine Government and the Marcos Family over the custody of these assets, kept in various Swiss bank accounts.

The Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission was created by Republic Act No. 10368, also known as “An Act Providing for Reparation and Recognition of Victims of Human Rights Violations During the Marcos Regime. (Zamboanga Post)