In a text message to Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, Tugade said “please continue helping and supporting me in my desire for good governance and efforts to put decency, fairness, and justice to service and other fronts.”
Pamintuan forwarded Tugade’s text message to local media. The message also accused the media of “irresponsible reporting” on his purported resignation.
Punto was tipped off earlier by members of the CDC board of directors, who all asked not to be named for lack of authority to talk to media, saying Tugade had declared his intention to resign after a rating of colleagues, as submitted
to the Government Commission on Government- Controlled and Owned Corporations (GCG), showed him with “mediocre” ranking.
Punto first got information on Tugade’s alleged resignation declaration from some people attending the Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting at Oxford Hotel last Thursday morning.
“One information was declarative, saying Tugade had resigned while the other was interrogative, asking me whether Tugade had indeed resigned,” recalled Punto correspondent Ding Cervantes.
Cervantes said he then left RDC coverage without partaking of lunch to gather more information about the report.
He proceeded to the Bale Balita media center where he tried to call up Tugade via his two cellphone numbers, but got no response.
“My missed calls could be traced in Tugade’s phones if they have not yet been erased,” he noted.
With story deadline nearing, Cervantes then started to track down members of the CDC board amid reports that it was before the board members that Tugade had announced his intent to resign. Three board members confirmed the resignation report, but with a plea for them to remain anonymous.
“I have always had respect for Tugade as a man of his word, as well as for the members of the board. With Tugade beyond reach, the statements of the board members were enough for me, on top of information that as I prepared to do my story, some CDC personnel were called to a meeting by their department heads also to relay to them the resignation development,” Cervantes said.
“We were told to just go on as usual with our job despite the resignation,” said one CDC personnel after a meeting called by his superior.
One board member said, however, that some mof them planned to dissuade Tugade from resigning, as he cited the CDC head’s accomplishments in the strate firm that runs this freeport. Punto had cited such accomplishment in its banner story on the CDC chief’s reported resignation. “Okay naman sya.
Galante nga eh,” said the board member. The resignation announcement, however, seemed to have turned out to be a mere emotional outburst.
By Saturday afternoon, Tugade sent his text message to Pamintuan accusing the media of irresponsible reporting.
In his text message, Tugade said that reports on his resignation was “intended to demolish me and my advocacy.”
“Let us not allow thenoisy hypocrites and the lawless elements to control what we desire for a clean and decent fair playing field. Let’s endorse and support good performance, not the wanton and crazy and greedy cravings for money and undeserved authority,” the text message also said.
Tugade said that “the Clark freeport zone is a paradise waiting to be rediscovered”, adding an appeal for sectors to “join hands and make that discovery together.” He also told Pamintuan that “if I resign you will be one of the first to know.”
It turned out Tugade also sent exactly the same message to other people to whom he vowed to be the “first to know” in case he resigned.
