The Rotary Club of Manila held a Polo Club Mayoral Debate last April 22, 2010, participated by mayoralty candidates Lim and Atienza. The debate was a heated one, with both candidates exchanging ideas on various social issues. The discussion went over the issue of drug trade and use, with Lim noting his continuous campaign in preventing the said activities. However, Lim's opponent, Lito Atienza doubted his authenticity due to the fact that Lim's son was arrested for drug pushing.
It could be recalled that the son of Lim, Manuel Lim was apprehended in 2008 for selling illicit drugs, a nonbailable offense that also carries 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. Lim, feeling cornered in the discussion, showed resistance to the topic by accusing the son of his opponent, Ali Atienza, a drug addict. Ali Atienza, who was in the audience, said to Lim that his accusations was impossible considering that he was an international athlete who complied with the strict drug testing procedures prior to competing in the taekwondo arena.
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 in defense of himself outlined to Lim his clean track record.The mayor, humiliated by his actions, spoke no further as the moderators of the program appeased both parties. Amidst the heated situation, Lito Atienza managed to stay calm and shrug off the issue, and continued with the debate.
The debate however did not last long, but Manila mayor Alfredo Lim tried to save face until the last minute. As hard as he might have tried though, Lim have already left an impression toward the thinking crowd of 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 professionals, people were expecting a more academic and intellectual discussions from the candidates.
Soon after, Ali Atienza brought the incident to the media saying that he would be filing a libel case against Lim. During an interview, the son of Lito Atienza said that as an athlete who has represented the Philippines in many international competitions, it was hurtful for him 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.
As election 2010 is just around the corner, it has been a norm for candidates to speak something negative against their competitors. These ill comments is one way for the candidates to pull down their opponents. However, for the candidates, they must also realize that by doing this they are also tarnishing their own reputation in the process. This is because the public has already given up with the ongoing political drama, and prefer leaders who knows how to walk the talk over those who talks and talks.
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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