Moroy Hudieras the wounded

Moroy Hudieras is a simple man from Tigum, Pavia. But in 1998, he shot to prominence in Pavia, Iloilo after armed goons barged into his home one evening and threatened him to stop campaigning for then congressional candidate Boboy Syjuco and mayoralty candidate Bing Gonzaga. Hudieras was one of the hardest working campaigners of the Gonzaga camp, that's why. He happened to be one of the top political lieutenants of Arcadio "Cadio" Gorriceta, the man behind Gonzaga's candidacy.

A fierce Gorriceta loyalist, Hudieras refused to be intimidated. To the surprise of the armed goons, Hudieras leaped at one of them and tried to grab his cal. 38 revolver. But the trigger finger moved faster, and three shots rang out in the stillness of the night. Moroy was hit in the belly, and he fell to the floor, mortally wounded. Those gunshots was heard not just in Tigum, but in the entire second district, because it symbolized the terror tactics that the political enemies of Cadio Gorriceta were willing to employ. Everybody in Pavia knew about it.

But Cadio Gorriceta seems to have amnesia. Yesterday, Oct. 14, Cadio was interviewed by Aksyon Radyo's Joel Tormon to get his reaction on the oppression and harassment complaint filed by Rodolfo "Moroy" Hudieras against the municipal mayor. Gorriceta had ordered Moroy to be assigned to lift garbage cans despite his full knowledge that the utility worker was weak as a result of those bullet wounds 10 years ago. He wanted to harass Moroy for refusing to denounce Syjuco. This was the punishment of a vindictive mayor who cannot tolerate subordinates having other loyalties than to him.

To the surprise of the people of Pavia, Gorriceta told a big lie when he said he was not aware that Moroy Hudieras was a shooting victim 10 years ago, and that his medical condition continued to be closely monitored by his doctor. "How can I possibly know each one of the 300 employees in the municipal government?" he lied through his teeth. Not even Bing Gonzaga, the articulate Sanggunian Bayan and staunch Gorrceta supporter, could stomach such lie. So Gonzaga called up Tormon and admitted that Moroy Hudieras is "close" to the mayor. It was his gentle way of refreshing the poor memory of the super mayor.

It's a good thing that this capacity of Cadio Gorriceta to tell blatant lies was exposed to the public. This is the true character of the man --- arrogant, manipulator, exploiter, schemer, liar, and thief.

He can afford to deny his friendship with a man who almost lost his life for the political cause of Cadio Gorriceta. He can also afford to betray the trust and confidence of the people of Pavia.