It seems that the conflict between Gov. Arthur Yap and Panglao mayor Leonila Montero heats up anew as one of the members of the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF) seems to be fanning the flames of conflict between the two political titans.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (PDRRMO) Anthony Damalerio was quoted as the source of a radIo news item regarding an airline’s denial for Montero and her companions to take the flight from Manila to Panglao recently.
To further confirm the news item, The Bohol Tribune reached out to Damalerio for additional comments but as of press time the calls were unreturned as well as the text message. Damalerio has been denying the calls and ignoring the text messages of The Bohol Tribune for several times already. Despite the promise of the governor that the head of every office in the provincial government will be transparent and available anytime, Damalerio seems to be a big violator to this promise.
This is not the first time that Damalerio got involved in the issue involving Montero as he was the one who exposed the Panglao mayor as someone who allegedly violated protocol when the mayor and her party went to Cebu to fetch speedboats that were purchased by the local government unit (LGU) of Panglao.
Now, Damalerio spilled the beans again on Montero, an act which may add more fuel to cause another conflagration on the brewing conflict between Yap and Montero.
This leads some observers to ask: Does Damalerio have an agendum of fanning the flames of conflict between Yap and Montero?
The Bohol Tribune tried to reach out to Damalerio regarding certain issues such as the Cafe Racer incident and the issue related to the issuance of certificate of acceptance to five personnel of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
In both instances, The Bohol Tribune did not get any response from Damalerio.
THE STORY
Montero and company were denied the opportunity to board the flight out of Manila and into Bohol on Friday, Mar. 19, 2021.
The reason for the denial is that reportedly Montero and her five companions were unable to secure a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test prior to boarding the plane.
As Montero and companions were unable to secure the vital piece of document, the authorities at Philippine Airlines (PAL) followed the advice of the BIATF to deny the mayor and company to take the Friday flight to Bohol.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Mar. 20, 2021, Montero confirmed that she and her companions were not able to take the flight as they were barred from doing so following an advice coming from the BIATF.
Based on Gov. Arthur Yap’s Executive Order No. 17-A, all persons wanting to enter Bohol need to produce a negative RT-PCR test result taken 72 hours prior to arrival in the province.
Moreover, Montero admitted that she did not have an RT-PCR test result when she and companions tried to take the flight on Friday.
She told The Bohol Tribune she was banking on the fact that in Panglao, returning residents who don’t have any RT-PCR results may still enter the town; provided the returning residents will have to undergo quarantine and will be subjected to an RT-PCR test five days from arrival.
She added that her RT-PCR result release was pending when she tried to take the flight out of Manila and into Panglao.
Furthermore, Montero obtained the result of her RT-PCR test Friday evening and arrived in Panglao yesterday.
Prior to her arrival here, she asked her certificate of acceptance from returning resident to authorized person outside residence (APOR) as she already has an RT-PCR result.
THE DENIAL
Montero went to Manila for an official business on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. She and her companions planned to plane in by Friday.
However, they were stopped by PAL personnel and the latter asked for an advice from the BIATF.
The BIATF, according to Montero, advised the PAL personnel that the executive order issued by the governor prevails.
The mayor claims that the airline company allowed the returning residents who are accepted in Panglao to take that flight subject to quarantine restrictions while waiting for the results of the RT-PCR test.
The latest incident can be seen as the third chapter in the ongoing saga of conflict between the local chief executive of Panglao and the provincial government.
Last year, the BIATF filed a case against Montero for allegedly violating protocol when she and her party went to Cebu to get the local government
unit’s speedboat.
Just last week, Yap and Montero traded barbs when the former asked the latter to issue a cease and desist order against the staging of a foam party in Amanzara Resort, which Montero refused to do so.
The exchange of barbs led some to comment that the issue is no longer about the alleged protocol violation of the resort, rather, an escalating conflict between the two political stalwarts of Bohol.
Observers note that Damalerio is very quick to go on air and make an expose if the subject matter is Mayor Montero and her alleged violations but remains silent and “unreachable” to other media outlets when asked about alleged violations of some people that are presented to his office.
Will the alleged fanning go on? For how long? Until when? Will the battle not subside? Again, The Bohol Tribune says Quo Vadis?