Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Tagum City, Davao del Norte--The House of Representatives' "censure" or reprimand against Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez should serve as a lesson for the latter to behave properly in the future. 

Thus, City Mayor Rey Uy during a chance interview with House reporters here Friday, June 7, on the sidelines of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) 

"Tama na yon, na-reprimand siya. Kaya, lesson learned na tayong public officials should be careful...Kung anong mga statement ang ipalabas," Uy said. 

(That's enough, he was reprimanded. That's why, it's a lesson learned for him that we as public officials should be careful...Regarding statements that we issue.) 

"Public official tayo, dapat modelo. Nandyan tayo sa mga rallies, public gatherings, ipaabot natin sa mga tao programa, proyekto, hindi yung below the belt," added the mayor. 

(We're public officials, we should be role models. When we're at rallies, and public gatherings, we should share to the people our programs and projects, not words that are below the belt.)

Uy was the complainant in the ethics case against Alvarez that was resolved by the House plenary last May 22. 

Alvarez, a former House Speaker, was slapped with a censure or a formal reprimand by the House after nominal voting by his congressmen-colleagues. 

ALSO READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/22/i-deserved-to-be-punished-alvarez

The House Committee on Ethics intially recommended a punishment of a 60-day suspension against Alvarez. However, this was downgraded to a censure out of consideration for the Mindanao solon. 

Uy's complaint noted that last April, during a political rally here, Alvarez called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw its support from President Marcos. 

The mayor also accused Alvarez of cursing fellow Davao del Norte officials. 

At any rate, Uy insisted that he and the controversial congressman remain on good terms. 

"School mate ko yan (He's my school mate). All is well that ends well," he said.