Local News: ‘No Retreat, No Surrender to Mayor Leonardia’

The latest whistleblower, who has come out openly against Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and especially his media adviser and factotum of all sorts, Hugo "Tutay" Corral, has once more came out with guns blazing during a press conference in a local hotel.

Broadcaster Romy Niere has debunked talks pur-portedly being made to go the rounds by his detractors identified as coming from Mayor Leonardia’s circle that he has agreed to settle their differences during a meeting of the top honcho’s political allies, himself and Niere. Niere did not elaborate on the issue beyond saying that the canard is not true. He has not and never will settle with Leonardia because he now knows the extent of his and his close confidante’s corruption and insincerity in supposedly doing public service.

The feisty broadcaster, who commutes to Thailand and the Philippines from the US as head of the Sowers International, a non-government Christian-based learning center, simply said the meeting in a local hotel was true but his having agreed to settle differences with Leonardia was false. Highly-reliable sources intimated that Leonardia demanded that his political allies in his political party, Group Progreso, now indicate which sides they were on his or Niere’s.

Generally, Niere was mum on his and Leonardia’s alleged settlement, an issue meant to discredit him, but another highly-reliable source who was present during the meeting said, Leonardia was largely rebuffed by his political allies when he somewhat demanded whose sides they were on too.

Several threatened to break away from their alliance and said they were blaming Niere who has not at fault, but the faults of his people, mainly, Corral.

If they are ordered to choose sides, they indicated that they will secede from their political grouping.

As to charges that he was only after a piece of the various money-making but anomalous transactions in city hall, Niere said he does not need it as he is more capable than most being a US and Filipino citizen and that he has more than enough than engage in corruption.

"Im sorry, I was grossly mistaken insofar as being previously on the side of Leonardia is concerned. Never will I now go with him," Niere, a broadcaster of long-standing, said.* (Edgar A. Cadagat)