Osmeñas in Cebu unfazed by squabble between Lito, Serge

CEBU — The impending face-off between cousins Lito and Serge Osmeña in the senatorial elections will not likely affect the local political scene where other Osmeñas will be running.

Vice Mayor Renato Osmeña, who is seeking re-election with Mayor Alvin Garcia, said the strained relations between Lito and Serge are rooted in their own personal bickerings and do not involve the rest of the Osmeñas.

Renato also disputed perceptions the Osmeña clan has established a dynasty with six members running for different positions this May.

Renato said the Osmeñas who are in office were elected to their positions by the people and therefore, cannot be called an established dynasty.

"It’s a dynasty when you are appointed. But we are all elected officials. It’s the people who decide. If the people reject the Osmeñas, then it’s their prerogative," Renato said.

Councilor Rogelio "Jingjing" Osmeña, who is also running for re-election, shares his brother’s view.

National politics

Jingjing said the conflict between Lito and Serge is confined to politics at the national level and will not affect his and Renato’s candidacies.

"As far as the vice mayor and I are concerned, we are only talking about Cebu City. We are not talking about running the whole country. I am just concerned with Cebu City because this is where I was born, where I have spent all my life," Jingjing said.

Jingjing also rejected the idea that the Osmeñas are running a dynasty.

He said that unlike mayors in northern and southern Cebu who pass on their positions to their children, "Osmeña politics" is among cousins.

"If you start putting in relatives in office, that is a dynasty, or when you pass it on to your son or daughter. That’s what happened in the north and south. For me, dynasty is within the family, when you give it to your wife or your children. But if there is fair competition among cousins, I don’t think that is dynasty," Jingjing said.

Serge is running for re-election to the Senate, but his cousin Lito recently said he, too, will vie for the same position.

In 1998, when Lito ran for the presidency, Serge, already a senator, ran for vice president with another party. Both lost.

Another Osmeña in the Senate, Sonny, who is not up for re-election until 2004, said the decision of his estranged brother Lito to run for the same position in the same election as Serge will ultimately backfire on the entire family.

Sonny predicts that both Lito and Serge will lose in the elections.

Reconciliation

In an effort to save the situation, other known Cebu politicians, both relatives and friends of the Osmeñas, are now expected to initiate moves to reconcile the two.

Former congressman Antonio Cuenco said he will initiate the peace initiative along with another former congressman, Raul del Mar, and former mayor Tomas Osmeña.

Incidentally, all three are expected to make renewed bids for their previously held positions.

Cuenco said the ideal situation should be for only one Osmeña to run for the Senate.

He said Serge has had a splendid record as a senator and deserves re-election.

Cuenco believes there is still a chance to patch up the differences between Lito and Serge. He said Lito’s decision to run for the Senate is not yet final.

But that may be easier said than done.

The better Osmeña

Serge fired a broadside at Lito the other day, likening him to former President Joseph Estrada who, he said, gives more importance to personal loyalties than loyalty to the people.

Serge acknowledged that Lito has personal reasons for not wanting to include him in the senatorial slate of the administration party.

"My primary responsibility is to the people and I don’t want to compromise my position, my loyalty and responsibility to the people of Cebu and the entire Philippines by negotiating my inclusion in any ticket," he said.

He added: "With this, I may be able to maintain my independence of mind and action and it is all right if Lito will run. I will let the Filipino people decide who is the better Osmeña," he said. — Freeman News Service