A legal dispute between the two leaders of Palompon, Leyte led to a standoff that paralyzed traffic in the town for seven hours.
Case against vice-mayor's poultry farm led to seven-hour standoff
For residents of Palompon, Leyte, the seven-hour standoff that occurred last Saturday along the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Tabonok was not just a comedy of failures.
The standoff, which involved Mayor Georgina Arevalo and Vice Mayor Ramon Oñate, was also perceived as an arrogant disregard on the interest of the public and commuters.
Vice Mayor Oñate’s camp claimed that Mayor Arevalo’s camp blocked two trucks loaded with chicks with a red-plate SUV, despite an extension of the 72-hour temporary restraining order (TRO) issued to them by the courts that was set to expire at 3:00 p.m.
The TRO stemmed from a cease and desist order Mayor Arevalo had issued against a poultry farm reportedly owned by Oñate for failure to secure a business permit and barangay clearance.
According to Atty. Lloyd Surigao, the legal counsel of Palompon LGU, Oñate’s Chicken Farm has an outstanding complaint for alleged non-compliance with environmental laws, reason for which it was denied and refused by Barangay LGU of the environmental clearance it needs in order to get a business permit.
Paralyzed
The standoff blocked the entire road, paralyzing traffic at the area, Atty. Gerentstein Benzon, Oñate’s legal counsel, contended.
Stranded commuters and residents could only watch in resignation as the two leaders engaged in what appeared to be a seemingly irreconcilable bout.
Not even the presence of supposedly impartial and apolitical responding commissioned police officers could immediately and peacefully resolve the conflict.
The apparent cowardice of the responding police officers to hold the two leaders accountable for a clear traffic violation – obstruction, couldn’t be any less a clear and flagrant display of unacceptable incompetence, Benzon claimed.
Palompon town acting police chief PMaj. Ambrosio Dimain would later, after the 7 hours long and certainly unsettling standoff, claimed in a statement that he was happy the two leaders have both “cooperated” ending the standoff in a peaceful resolution.
Surigao argued that it was proper for Mayor Arevalo to block off Oñate’s trucks because he was in clear violations of the law.
“Without a business permit, and with outstanding complaints of environmental laws violations, he was literally operating his chicken farm business illegally,” Surigao insisted.