In the spirit of fairness, hiningi ng Cabinet Files ang panig ng entertainment writer na si Joey Sarmiento tungkol sa civil case for damages na isinampa laban sa kanya ni City of Malolos Mayor Christian Natividad.
Seen in the right photo are Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad and GMA-7 entertainment reporter Lhar Santiago.
Kaugnay ito ng akusasyon ni Mayor Natividad na nayurakan ang kanyang reputasyon dahil sa biglaang pagbawi ng public service award na natanggap niya sa Gawad Amerika Awards Night sa Hollywood, California, noong August 18.
Ayon kay Joey, hindi umano dumaan sa wastong proseso ang nominasyon ni Mayor Natividad sa Gawad Amerika.
Ikinagulat pa umano ng ilang officials na bumubuo ng awards night na naisama ang pangalan ni Mayor Natividad sa listahan ng awardees ng organisasyon.
“As the Director of Operations in the Philippines of Gawad Amerika, I should have in my hands the copy of the nominees for the August 2018 awardees but I haven’t seen the name of Mayor Christian Natividad in the final list.
“At the awards night itself, the mayor’s name was not in the master’s list at the entrance. No seats were also reserved for him.
“But at the latter part of the second part of the award’s night, we were seated at the back (me and Gawad Amerika Charles Simbulan) and we were surprised when the name of Mayor Christian was called.
“Because we believed in due process, we didn’t bother to stop him but instead, upon the resolution of the board of directors of Gawad Amerika after the awards night, we immediately conducted an investigation on what really happened."
Lumabas daw sa imbestigasyon ng Gawad Amerika na hindi authorized ng presidente ng organisasyon na si Charles Simbuyan ang imbitasyon at certificate of recognition na natanggap ni Mayor Natividad.
Paliwanag ni Joey sa diumano'y iregularidad ukol dito: “First, we learned that Mayor Christian received an invitation from a certain GAWAD officer but in order to make it official, invitation should come from and signed by the president himself, and not from any ordinary officer.
“Second, a trophy (and not a certificate of recognition) is officially given to all the awardees coming from the Philippines.
“Apparently, Mayor Christian was given only a certificate signed by the said officer, and not by the president himself.
“Third, in order for Mayor Christian to be given due process, GAWAD AMERIKA have sent him three letters (signed by the president) informing him of the investigation, asking him to send a copy of his certificate of recognition and waited for him to comply, but he did not.
“On the second letter, the president indicated that Mayor Christian should coordinate with the Director of Operations in the Philippines for the investigation, therefore officially giving me the authority to act on the matter.
“Fourth, after giving him due process without him complying, and upon the resolution of the board of directors, we’ve sent him a final letter stating that his recognition is null and void."
“Again, the organizer, the president and the board of directors were not aware that he’s coming, he was not on the master’s list when he stepped into the venue, he was not reserved a single seat, so nobody welcomed him as VIP or as an awardee."
Ipinaliwanag din ni Joey ang proseso nang pagpili sa awardees ng Gawad Amerika.
“Just for the record and it is also in Gawad Amerika's website, here is the official process.
"Anybody can nominate a possible awardee in the Philippines and submit its name and credentials to the Director of Operations of the said jurisdiction.
"It will be screened by the Director of Operations and submit it to the Board of Directors in America.
"Then the final list of awardees should be submitted to the president who will give and sign the official invitation."
Sa huli, nilinaw ni Joey na walang Gawad Amerika Philippines, pero siya ang director of operations sa Pilipinas ng US-based organization.
READ CABINET FILES: City of Malolos mayor, binawian ng parangal mula sa Gawad Amerika