A forgotten rivalry in Davao politics was between Assemblyman Romualdo C. Quimpo (1935-38), dubbed as the “father of Davao City,” and Assemblyman Cesar M. Sotto (1939-41). The feud became the focus of Administrative Order (AO) No. 126 that Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon issued on June 6, 1940.
The bad blood surfaced following the receipt by Malacañan of the June 17, 1939 letter of Sotto to Rafael Alunan, then secretary of the Interior, imputing Quimpo of seven allegations. The claims were not only very serious; they were also highly malicious.
Sotto charged that Quimpo, Alunan’s private secretary, (i) distributed his (Quimpo’s) picture in Philippine Army (PA) uniform during the 1938 elections in his (Quimpo’s) district; (ii) received a P15,000 in bribe from the Davao Japanese Association in 1938; (iii) took bribes from the Davao Metropolitan Club, a Chinese gambling den; (iv) asked contributions for the 1937 polls from Chinese gambling dens through Alejo S. Ong, then the city’s chief of police; (v) operated a gambling den in the city in connivance with Ong; (vi) maintained a gambling den at Legaspi Street in the latter part of his term as assemblyman with the help of city councilor Donato C. Endriga; and (vii) had a querida (paramour) named Ponyang with whom he has a son.
Later, Sotto added a new charge alleging Quimpo took advantage of his position as private secretary by opposing his recommendations for certain positions in Davao by sending a “confidential memorandum” containing the grave charges against one of the candidates recommended for appointment to the speaker of the National Assembly without the knowledge of Alunan.
In response to Sotto’s allegations, a probe was promptly conducted to determine Quimpo’s culpability. The investigator, in his report on the first charge, found Quimpo guilty of violating Army Regulations No. 610-10, as amended, which banned army officers in both active and reserve forces from using photos in uniform for political aims.
Quezon, in citing the enquiry report, cited in his Order that the charge was first brought to his attention by Sotto on August 4, 1939, but advised him that the matter had already been raised to the Chief of Staff for probe, stating:
“After careful consideration of the report of the Chief of Staff,” the President wrote, “I concluded that the case did not involve any deliberate disobedience of regulations and on September 5, 1939, I requested the army authorities to warn the respondent that any further transgression [of the Army regulations] would result in his summary dismissal from the rolls of the Army. For purposes of this administrative case, [this] charge… [is] closed.”
For undisclosed reason, Sotto withdrew cases 2, 4, and 7, while charges 3, 5, and 6 were found to be without substance. With respect to charge No. 8, Quimpo was absolved by the interior secretary who told the President his private secretary’s opposition to Sotto’s nominee was not politically motivated, adding he even authorized Quimpo to see the President and Jose Yulo, speaker of the National Assembly, on the matter.
Two months earlier, Endriga, the same person mentioned in Sotto’s charge No. 6, was dismissed from office as elective councilor of Davao City by virtue of AO No. 124 signed by Quezon on April 15, 1940. Two of three complaints filed by the City Attorney against him were substantiated after an investigation was launched by the Department of the Interior.
In the Order, Endriga was accused of (i) engaging in prostitution with the help of a paramour in his residence; (ii) in connivance with his illicit partner, he tolerated gambling in his house at Tomas Claudio (now Quirino) street, Davao City; and (iii) received a monthly P300 bribe in 1937 and thereafter from the Davao Metropolitan Club, the same Chinese betting lair cited in Sotto’s complaint-letter.
In the first case, Endriga argued that his residence at Magallanes (now Pichon) street was already ceded to his paramour before he was elected councilor as evidenced by the March 27, 1937 deed of sale of P500. But the investigator found the transaction as fictitious given that the house, exclusive of the land value, was originally assessed ten times the amount of purchase.
In the second charge, Endriga claimed his Claudio residence was leased to a certain Restituto J. Quibod on April 1, 1939, and even showed a receipt purporting the consummation of the rent. But the prober was quick to point out that the supposed proof was new, self-serving, and was produced only after the presentation of evidences. In his Order, Quezon wrote:
“The evidence of record fully supports the findings of the Department of Interior that the respondent is guilty of serious misconduct which renders him unfit to hold any public office.
“In view of the foregoing and concurring in the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, Donato C. Endriga, elective councilor of the City of Davao, is hereby dismissed for the good of the service, effective as of the date of his suspension from office.”
