Candoni Mayor Cicero Borromeo yesterday cried foul over an alleged text message stating that Vice Gov. Isidro Zayco warned barangay captains that they will not receive any projects if they attend oathtaking rites set Monday in his town.

A mass oath-taking of the barangay officials is set in Candoni before Borromeo Monday.

But Borromeo said he was informed that Zayco, instead, wants the barangay captains to take their oaths before him in Bacolod City .

The vice governor allegedly told the barangay captains that if they go with Borromeo, they will not get any projects, the mayor said.

If that is true, it is not right, Borromeo said, because that is not the way government projects should be allocated, and the money for them does not belong to the vice governor.

Borromeo said he is trying to work with the barangay captains of his town and if the text message about Zayco's alleged move is true, it will create enmity between them and it is not a conciliatory move.

He alleged that during the barangay elections the police seized four boxes of sardines, 60 boxes of noodles and 80 sack of rice allegedly sent by Zayco to Candoni.

Borromeo said he did not try to influence the outcome of the barangay elections, he stayed away because local officials were told not to get involved and to remain non partisan.

When reached for comment, however, Zayco denied that he told the Candoni barangay captains that they would not get projects if they took their oaths before Borromeo and not before him.

“In the first place the barangay captains were the ones who asked if they could take their oaths before me,” Zayco said.

“I even told them I would check first if I had the authority to administer their oaths,” he added.

Zayco also denied that he was the one who sent the seized sardines, noodles and rice to Candoni during the barangay elections.

Earlier Zayco and Borromeo had also been involved in a verbal tussle at the Capitol in Bacolod City.*CPG

back to top