Because Vice Mayor Michael Rama is against the closure of the controversial city-run Cebu City Medical Center, as constantly threatened by Mayor Tomas Osmena, the mayor now wants Rama to take care of the problems plaguing the hospital.
Never in the history of Cebu politics has one man made the life of another so difficult than Osmena. Conversely, never in the history of Cebu politics has one man been too willing to absorb the indignities inflicted by another than Rama.
And for what? For the mayorship? We do not profess to know the compelling reason for the obsession of Rama to become mayor. Maybe it is tied to the illustrious place Vicente Rama, his grandfather, occupies in the history of Cebu politics.
But Rama should be reminded that the elder Rama belonged to an era where honor still mattered and dignity had a value that was measurable only by one's own life. That is simple not the time in which we live today.
What many people find truly surprising about Rama is his seemingly limitless capacity to endure the abuse of Osmena. They cannot fathom how the obsession to be mayor, and the belief in Osmena being key to realize that obsession, can be more valuable than dignity and honor.
Rama had a good law practice before he joined politics and can look forward to the same if he goes back. His circle of family and friends is true, strong, and warm. He has a lady that charms him and makes him happy. Life will not be miserable if he chooses it not to be.
The public humiliation he has been cruelly made to endure makes any obsession no longer worth it. If Rama chooses to endure more, he runs the risk of having the public think he does not deserve their respect.
The world will not end for Rama if he does not get to become mayor. If it is serving the Cebuanos that he wants, there are other ways of doing so without having to give up his dignity. Enduring pain may be honorable. But not when you are stripped naked in public.