FORMER Sto. Tomas mayor John Sambo on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 questioned the move of Mayor Gloria “Ninang” Ronquillo which banned his dump trucks from passing by an internal road in Barangay San Vicente.
This came after a dump truck carrying sand owned by Sambo was allegedly flagged down and was issued a ticket on Monday afternoon, November 15, 2021 upon entry to the Mesalipit Street, Blue Diamond Subdivision in the said barangay.
On Tuesday morning, Sambo came to the municipal police station to question the legality of the said order implemented by their personnel.
“In-issue-han ng ticket for illegal entry ang truck ko at ang basis daw nila ay iyong order nga ng mayora namin. Hindi naman ako attorney pero sa pananaw ko, wala naman yatang illegal entry dahil hindi naman pumasok sa isang one way street,” Sambo said.
He added that his dump trucks are carrying sand to be used for government projects in this town and its delay may also hamper the projects for the public.
“Hindi naman smuggled itong dala nila, at bayad naman ang lahat ng buwis sa kapitolyo so hindi ko alam bakit bigla nilang ipinagbawal na dumaan sila doon dahil public road naman iyon,” Sambo stressed.
He asked the local police to check on the legality of the measure and implement it through proper procedure.
He claimed that the move is “politically motivated” as it is only implemented now that he is officially a candidate for mayor and running head-to-head against Ronquillo.
“Ang tanong ko lang, bakit ngayon na kandidato ako para mayor ulit ng bayan namin? Dati naman kaming dumadaan dito pero wala naman naging problema,” he said.
He added: “Panawagan ko lang, idaan natin sa tamang proseso. Maging patas sana ang gobyerno at ang kapulisan dahil kawawa naman kaming simpleng private citizens lang.”
Meanwhile, this town’s chief of police Captain Glenn Santelices clarified that they are only performing their duty of implementing orders from the Office the Mayor.
“Nag-act lang po kami sa order ng aming local chief executive. Kung may questions, better to direct nalang sa mayor dahil iniimplement lang po namin ang ibinababa sa amin,” he said.
Santelices also belied claims that ticket was issued without proper information and warning to truck drivers.
“Nasabihan po sila na bawal pumasok pero nagpumilit pa rin pumasok iyong nahuli kaya na-issue-han ng ticket,” he said.
No politics
Ronquillo, for her part, belied that the order to ban the dump trucks of Sambo in the said street is politically motivated.
She said she is only acting on the petition of the homeowners of Blue Diamond Subdivision who claim to be inconvenienced by Sambo’s truck activities.
“Noong November 11, nagpadala ng petition letter sa akin iyong mga residente ng Blue Diamond na nakikiusap nga na huwag ng padaanin iyong mga truck doon dahil nasisira nga ang mga daan at delikado pa sa mga bata, at iyong alikabok na dala nga ng mga trucks nagtitrigger ng asthma sa mga residente at ako naman bilang ina ng bayan, umaaksyon lang ako sa panawagan ng mga tao at dahil nga private iyong daan na iyon, talagang may karapatan ang mga tao,” she said.
The petition letter Ronquillo was referring to contained signatures of at least 40 residents of Mesalipit Street in the said subdivision where Sambo’s truck pass by.
The lady mayor disclosed that Sambo’s trucks have not been using the said road for some time until they came back a few days ago.
“Matagal na walang dumadaan na truck diyan kaya nagulat ang mga taga-doon na biglang may dumadaan na kaya siguro nakagawa sila ng petition. At hindi naman nasingle-out iyong mga trucks ni Mayor John kaya lang, sila lang kasi talaga ang dumadaan ngayon doon,” Ronquillo said.
She added that there are other routes that Sambo’s truck can utilized without passing by a private road, such as the tail dike going to Bacolor.
“Dati may dinadaanan sila kaya lang nabenta na rin yata iyon kaya bumalik sila sa Mesalipit pero kung gugustuhin nila, pwede naman silang umikot sa may Bacolor para paglabas ay provincial road na kaya lang mas malayo,” Ronquillo said.
Ronquillo also clarified that the order was not suddenly enforced as she had coordinated with Sambo days before its actual implementation.
“Pinuntahan niya ako para makiusap pero sabi ko huwag na muna. Humanap nalang sila ng ibang daan para hindi na magkaproblema pero dumaan pa rin nga sila,” she said.
