The top three leaders of the province – Governor Joseph Cua, Congressman Hector Sanchez and TGP Partylist Rep. Jose Teves Jr. – addressed barangay captains from the towns of Bato and San Miguel last Monday afternoon in a Solidarity Meeting held at Rakdell Inn in Virac.
The meeting was actually the second of the day, as the first was held in Caramoran for barangay leaders there and from nearby Pandan.
Both congressman arrived last Thursday via overland route from Metro Manila, with Sanchez meeting with the governor and national agency officials here and Teves continuing his distribution of relief goods solicited from various companies and friends.
Aside from the messages assuring support for the village leaders’ programs and projects, the three leaders reportedly left Christmas gifts for the participants.
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Bato police chief Capt. Ariel Buraga is now in hot water after his Facebook post on the killing of a mother and her son in Tarlac by an off-duty police officer went viral.
“My Father is a Policeeeee Mannnnn ha!!! I don’t care eh eh eh eh eh err!!! P@#¥ng ina mo gusto mo tapusin na kita ngayon???? Bang Bang Bang Bang.. Lesson Learn kahit puti na ang buhok o ubanin na tayo eh matuto tayo rumispeto sa ating mga Kapulisan..mahirap kalaban ang Pagtitimpi at pagpapasensya.. RIP Nanay and Totoy..”
So goes the controversial post and his subsequent agreement with a netizen’s clarificatory query that it was the mother’s fault why she was shot by the policeman.
Following the barrage of negative comments on social media, the Catanduanes Island Media Club (CIMC) asked Provincial Director Col. Brian Castillo for an official statement on the matter;
In response, Camp Camacho’s media relations unit released a brief statement from the Police Regional Office 5: “RD, PRO5: ‘I directed PD Catanduanes to issue show cause order against COP Bato PS.”
To add more fuel to the fire that now engulfs Buraga, Mayor Juan Rodulfo requested the PD to assign another police chief to assuage the fears of Batonhons of “a seemingly biased chief of police whose loyalty, it seems, rests primarily with his fellow policemen than with the constituents in his area of responsibility.”
“Much as we respect his right to publicly pronounce his personal opinion regarding the killing, he should have exercised restraint and prudence in doing so considering that he is the Chief of Police in this LGU…,” the chief executive stated.
Just weeks after Buraga was assigned to Bato, he soon became the target of criticism from motorists of the poblacion after he personally flagged down and issued citation tickets to drivers without licenses, vehicle registration or helmets.
Whether he made the public comments on Facebook in a state of inebriation or as a reflection of his personal feelings regarding the Tarlac shootings, any justification he would offer to his immediate superior would be viewed alongside the fact that the brouhaha over Buraga’s comments has cast a dark cloud on the Bicol police organization’s commendable contribution to the typhoon relief effort in Catanduanes.
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THE MUMMY. An archaeologist is digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and comes upon a casket containing a mummy. After examining it, he calls the curator of a prestigious natural history museum.
“I’ve just discovered a 3,000 year-old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!” the excited scientist exclaims.
The curator replies, “Bring him in. We’ll check it out.”
A week later, the amazed curator calls the archaeologist.
“You were right about the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?”
“Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, ’10,000 shekels on Goliath.’”