EDITORIAL - Two mayors, two sons in trouble

Two mayors. Two sons. Two tricky situations. Two public reactions. These, in effect, sum up the travails of Mayors Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City and Socrates Fernandez of Talisay City in relation to their sons, Miguel and Joavan, respectively.

Both sons, Miguel Osmeña and Joavan Fernandez, have recently been in trouble, or in controversy if you will. Miguel was accused by a girl of shooting her camera and sending her death threats by text. Joavan was arrested for traffic violations, and gun and drug possession.

For Miguel, the controversy was his first time. For all of his 20 or so years he has stayed largely out of the limelight, and out of trouble, although some disturbing tales about him have surfaced every now and then.

It is an entirely different case with Joavan. The young man has a knack for getting into trouble. We shall not go into a detailed list of his mischiefs but suffice it to say he is the single biggest source of heartache for his dad.

How the two mayors handled the situation involving their sons have been similar and yet so different. As fathers, they could do no less, and so vouched for their sons. But as mayors they went their separate ways.

Osmeña went on leave ostensibly to avoid influencing the investigation. Fernandez stayed put and is expected to continue protecting his son to any extent that is legally possible.

Public reactions, however, are as varied as their are people willing to take issue with both controversies. Many people have been surprisingly civil and benign with regard to Miguel but have been merciless with Joavan.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that this is a first time for Miguel while Joavan has been no stranger to trouble. Also, Mayor Osmeña, by going on leave, whether sincerely motivated or not, has done what was expected, unlike Mayor Fernandez who calls the shots from his office.

How justice is eventually served, with or without influence from their influential fathers, is something definitely interesting about the two sons of political privilege. Even in trouble, or maybe more so because of trouble, they seem to be have it more than others.