The word war between Mayor Isko Moreno and third-district Rep. Joel Chua has continued to escalate after Moreno ordered the stoppage of a construction project at the corner of Alvarez Street and Rizal Avenue, drawing a sharp response from the lawmaker.

Moreno discovered the project during a routine city inspection and was surprised to find that the former Rasac covered basketball court — which also housed a day-care center and the senior citizens’ headquarters — had been demolished to make way for what Chua described as the “Sentro Komunidad de Sta. Cruz.”

But Chua defended the project, saying it was legitimate and funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Moreno countered that the work had neither a construction permit nor a demolition permit and stressed that the facilities inside the compound — the day-care center, the seniors’ office and the covered court — were city property.

The mayor padlocked the heavy equipment on-site and ordered the operators to cease work.

Chua accused Moreno of politicizing the matter, saying the order was motivated by politics since Chua belongs to a rival group aligned with former Mayor Honey Lacuna.

Moreno, however, said he was only enforcing the law. “Local rules must be followed, and all construction in the city must secure building permits,” he said, citing as an example DPWH’s recent repair of the Dimasalang overpass, where the agency secured the necessary permits and paid local fees.

“This is not the only project of Congressman Chua that failed to follow the law,” Moreno added, pointing to a P19-million barangay hall built on the sidewalk that blocked the façade of a high school.