Alfredo Lim Lose His Cool, Accused The Son of Lito Atienza As Drug User
The Rotary Club of Manila held a Polo Club Mayoral Debate last April 22, 2010, participated by mayoralty candidates Lim and Atienza. The debate paved way for the candidates to tackle various social issues that concerns the city of Manila. When the discussion went to the issue of drugs, Lim noted his accomplishments against drug trade and use during his tenure as the city mayor. Yet, his opponent Lito Atienza was in doubt of Lim’s statements due to the involvement of the mayor’s son in selling drugs.
The son of Alfredo Lim, Manuel Lim was busted for selling illegal drugs in 2008 by the authorities. Manila mayor Alfredo Lim, admitted that his son was busted by the PDEA in 2008, but denied helping his son. As Lim was placed in the hot seat, he strained the topic by accusing the son of Atienza, Ali Atienza, a national athlete and a gold medalist of the taekwondo Asian games, of being a drug
addict himself. Ali Atienza who was in the audience cried foul and called Lim a liar, saying that how can a national athlete, who competes in international games with strict drug testing procedures, 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, at that moment, humiliatingly yield to the fumes of the young Atienza, as the moderators of the debate took control of the situation. 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. He might have dug his grave for he forgot that the audience was a thinking crowd
of professional Rotarians. Lim usually gets away with his mediocre style of campaigning when he is facing customary crowd of tricycle drivers, vendors and the likes, but he must consider that he was facing professionals. It is just discouraging to see candidates speaking ill about their competitors. As the upcoming leaders of the city, the public expects more from these candidates than the senseless words coming from their mouths.
After the incident, Ali Atienza noted in front of the media that he would be pressing charges against the libelous allegations of 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. The young Atienza also pointed out that it was really impossible for an athlete to compete if he has been found using illicit drugs, making Lim’s accusations a look more like fabricated story. 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. This practice has been around for ages, and has since served as a means to drag their competitors down. 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.
With the election 2010 coming, the Rotary Club of Manila held a mayoralty debate at the Manila Polo Club. Mayoralty candidates Alfredo Lim and Lito Atienza attended the said program. However, what appears to be a simple debate turned sour after Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim accused the son of his opponent, Ali Atienza, a drug user. The allegation directed by Lim caused a bit of hysteria among the audience, and angered the young Atienza and their family’s supporters.
-Joel Dumayog
Tags: election 2010, lito atienza, Manila Mayor
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