By Francis Allan L. Angelo
PUNONG Barangay Roberto Divinagracia of San Agustin, City Proper has no one to blame but himself for the issues hounding him as the Liga ng mga Barangay-Iloilo City election approaches.
Incumbent Liga president Irene Ong said they had long ago advised Divinagracia to liquidate the funds of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC)-City Proper when he assumed its presidency in 2008.
“I also warned Bobby (Divinagracia) to settle the accounts before he stepped down and ran for councilor last May because the issue will become a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head,” Ong said.
Ong said the unaccounted funds include the proceeds of the 2008 feria at the old City Hall lot and earnings from the stages they constructed during the 2009 Dinagyang festival.
Divinagracia said he will liquidate the ABC funds to clear his name en route to the Liga elections.
Divingracia said the issue surfaced after he bared his plan to wrest the Liga leadership from Ong.
“It’s all about politics,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ong urged political bigwigs in Iloilo City not to engage in a proxy war during the Liga elections.
Ong is identified with the group of former secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. while Divinagracia is with Rep. Jerry Treñas and Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Gonzalez parted ways with Treñas and Mabilog before the May 2010 elections.
Ong said despite the very partisan conflict in the recent presidential and local elections where many punong barangays took sides, the Liga office under her watch remained a neutral ground and continued to serve all village chiefs regardless of political or party color.
“From the beginning of our term as Liga president, we treated everybody fairly according to their rights and privilege as members of the Liga. Our Punong Barangays, even their kagawads, treasurers and secretaries can attest to that. To inject political color into the Liga’s affairs now would negate the gains that we have accomplished,” she said.
Ong said labeling the Liga elections as proxy war divides and diminishes the organization.
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