A former vice mayor of Escalante City is questioning the presence of Councilor Alice Barcelona, wife of incumbent Escalante City Mayor Santiago Barcelona in the three Lakbay Aral tours of city officials in Bohol.

Melicio "Beboy" Yap Jr. in a signed statement sent to the DAILY STAR, asked if such inclusion was intended to get the support of city and barangay officials for his wife's candidacy. Reached for comment yesterday, however, Barcelona called Yap's claims "childish" and said that his councilor-wife led the contingent composed of councilors and barangay officials during the learning-by-traveling tours.

He said nobody has yet filed a certificate of candidacy for the local elections in Escalante, so it was not correct for Yap to claim that they have been using the Lakbay Aral for Alice, who has been endorsed by the Nationalist People's Coalition to run for city mayor.

Yap, who is also seeking the mayoralty seat in the May 14 political derby, said that Alice had been present during the educational tours on Dec, 9-11, 2006; Feb. 9-11, and March 9 to 11, 2007, all in Bohol.

Quoting an allegedly "reliable source" he also claimed that he was told that before returning to Escalante, the tours included a bounteous dinner followed by program, where each participant was asked to make a statement of support for the candidacy of Alice.

Mayor Barcelona, however, said, "It was a voluntary act. They (tour participants) were not pressured."

He added that before their return, officials usually make an assessment or evaluation of their tour. For instance, a particular Lakbay Aral was aimed at stressing the importance of rehabilitating the Danao River, a move that was opposed by a councilor allied with Yap.

On Yap's query if Mayor Barcelona is ignorant of the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, the mayor said, "He is the ignorant one."

The mayor hinted this has all something to do with politics, claiming that, during his first term, when Yap was vice mayor, the city had been operating on a reenacted budget for a couple of years, also due to the opposition of Yap.*GCT

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