EDWIN CODILLA, youngest brother of Winnie Codilla, has eschewed pronouncements from Richard Gomez who was interviewed as saying he plans to file libel and a complaint of subjudice against him. Edwin Codilla was reportedly quoted in a local newspaper saying that Comelec has already disqualified Gomez from the congressional race.
The younger Codilla said that if he has been quoted saying such, “I must have been misquoted”, adding all that they were telling their supporters and those who are asking is that “we haven’t received anything from the Comelec.”
“I am not careless also”, he said, saying that for the past several days, people have been inquiring from him if Gomez was already disqualified and that he has told them honestly, “we haven’t received anything from the Comelec”.
Codilla said that they are not even sure if Gomez will be disqualified but their camp filed the case to make sure that he was indeed qualified. “That’s what we are trying to find out, if he is really qualified to run”. This was also their camp’s answer to Gomez’s challenge to “fight square and fair”.
Using a vernacular phrase, he said that it would a sort of a tragi-comedy if they allowed Richard to run without contest, only to find he was “binlod sa tahop” or “way labot sa sinugdanan”. The nearest phrase in English to this allegory is that the Codilla camp would want to separate the chaff from the grain, and to ascertain if indeed, Gomez was a worthy opponent.
He said that if Comelec says Gomez is qualified to run, then so be it.
Edwin Codilla then turned the tables on Gomez, saying that it is his turn to be honest with the people.
He reverted to the issue of the Gomez’s beleaguered Community Tax Certificate, lambasting that if the actor cannot do a very basic act as taxpayer with honesty, then what kind of a person is he to seek mandate as congressman. He said, “he should be answerable to this”, and hopes the actor realizes that this is “perjury and falsification of public documents.”
Codilla said, “He is the one that is not honest. He should (explain to the people) why he only paid P53.00 for his Community Tax Certificate. He should explain whose thumb mark and signature is that on his CTC”. He added that this issue reminds people of Gomez’s tax evasion case, adding that people should take note that he only paid P53.00 for his CTC.
He also twitted Gomez for wanting to serve the district as congressman, yet could not make a short stop to the barangay hall to get his CTC personally.
Codilla said that yes, it is not necessary for a person to personally get his CTC from the barangay but at least, it should be his thumb mark and signature on it. He also acquiesced that the name of Ormoc Villa Hotel chef Peter Ablen was dragged into the issue unwittingly, saying it was “a mistake”.
He added they already have information that the person who got it is a certain Salvador Hermoso. “We still have to double check”, he said, but added “I throw this challenge to the Gomez camp, to surface the person who got their CTC”.
He also reminded Richard that Lucy’s CTC was also at stake. The barangay treasurer has issued an affidavit claiming that the same person who got Richard and Lucy’s CTC used his little finger for Lucy’s “thumb mark”.
Edwin Codilla said that this could harm Lucy’s career and endorsements, imputing it wouldn’t harm Richard much because he does not have a career to speak of anymore. “Sagdi lang na si Richard, wa na man na siya”, he said.
The younger Codilla also said, “tanawon nato kinsa makeha og libel”, adding they are also preparing their battery of cases against the actor.
He then threw the dare to Gomez to “produce evidence that what we have here is narco-politics”. Codilla said Gomez threw this imputation against them during an interview with Star Talk on national TV last January 2. By Lalaine M. Jimenea
