Mayoralty candidate Alfredo Lim was cornered at the Polo Club Mayoral debate hosted by the Rotary Club of Manila last April 22, 2010. The debate paved way for the candidates to tackle various social issues that concerns the city of Manila. The discussion went over the issue of drug trade and use, with Lim noting his continuous campaign in preventing the said activities. Yet, his opponent Lito Atienza was in doubt of Lim's statements due to the involvement of the mayor's son in selling drugs.
In 2008, the authorities apprehended Lim's son, Manuel Lim for selling illegal drugs, an offense that is nonbailable an carries with it life imprisonment. Lim, current Manila mayor, did admit that his son was caught by the PDEA, but claimed that he did not lift a finger to help his son. In order to divert the issue, Lim pointed the accusation of drug use towards Ali Atienza, the son of his opponent and a national and international taekwondo competitor. The young Atienza who was in the audience called Lim a liar, as it was impossible for a former athlete like him, who competed in international games, to be a drug addict.
Embarassed with his accusation, Lim tried to come out clean by saying that it was former vice mayor Lacuna who said that Ali was a drug addict. Ali defended himself by bespeaking to Lim about his accolades as an athlete.Lim spoke no more about his allegations against Atienza, while the moderators of the debate take over to calm down both parties. Amidst the heated situation, Lito Atienza managed to stay calm and shrug off the issue, and continued with the debate.
Manila mayor Alfredo Lim tried his best to redeem himself from the humiliating accusation he dropped; however, the program ended with antagonism in the air. Unfortunately, Lim must have forgotten that the audience was professional Rotarians. Usually Alfredo Lim can get away with lies when he is facing the city's customary street crowd of vendors, tricycle drivers and the likes; appearing in Tondo one and two with his usual mediocre style of campaigning. It is just disheartening to see how this form of unintelligent debate can take place. As the upcoming leaders of the city, the public expects more from these candidates than the senseless words coming from their mouths.
Soon after, Ali Atienza brought the incident to the media saying that he would be filing a libel case against Lim. The son of Lito Atienza noted that it pained him, as a former athlete, to be accused of being a drug addict. He also said that he worked hard to be on the top of his game, and it was really foul for a mayor to come into a ridiculous accusation against a former athlete, who before competing, needs to comply with strict drug testing procedures. Even after the election, Atienza is decided to file charges against Lim to protect his reputation.
With election 2010 nearing, it is normal to hear candidates speaking ill against their competitors. These ill comments is one way for the candidates to pull down their opponents. However, it should be realized that as public leaders, this practice clearly sends out the message to the voters that what candidates are capable of doing just to be in the position. The people wants to have a leader who knows how to walk the talk and not just to talk and talk.
The son of mayoralty candidate Lito Atienza is planning to press charges against his father's opponent Alfredo Lim after the current Manila mayor accused him of being a drug addict. The incident took place during the Mayoralty Debate last April 22, 2010 at the Manila Polo Club. Lim dropped the allegations when the topic of drug abuse was tackled. The young Atienza insisted that he would continue the charges even after election 2010 has ended.
-Joel Dumayog
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